So far this season, the road has been favorable to the Colorado Avalanche. A nght after soundly defeating a solid Columbus Blue Jackets squad 5-1, Colorado travels to Detroit and faces off against their oldest nemesis.
The Detroit Red Wings are off to another excellent start to the season and are again playing the role of Stanley Cup contender. They lead the Central Division with a 10-3-1 record and own one of the best defenses in the league. Goalie Jimmy Howard allows only 2.26 goals per game and only faces 28 shots per game.
If the shorthanded Avalanche are to win this game, on the second game of a back-to-back, they will have to use their youth and energy to overwhelm a Detroit puck control system that doesn't surrender many opportunities. The recent series between these two teams has favored the Avalanche, but all of the games have been extremely close. In fact, only one game between these two teams since 2008 has had more than a one goal differential. The remaining games have always been tightly contested affairs.
Earlier this season, Colorado defeated Detroit in the shootout, with forward Brandon Yip scoring the only tally in extra time as goalie Peter Budaj completely stonewalled Detroit's best shooters.
Faceoff occurs at 5pm mountain time.