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Get your game notes: Red Wings at Avalanche

Calvin Pickard

Calvin Pickard

AP

Tonight on NBCSN, it’s the Colorado Avalanche hosting the Detroit Red Wings at 9 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

TOP STORYLINES

• Matchup between two teams making a strong push to position themselves for postseason hockey.

• Last game: DET beat NYI 4-1 on Saturday…COL won at DAL 3-2 SO (11th round) on Tuesday.

• Hottest team in the East...Detroit’s 24 points over its last 16 games is the most in the conference.

• The Wings stretch of strong play starts with a 6-3 win over BUF on December 23rd which snapped a 6-game losing streak at the time…since then, DET has won 12 of its last 16 games (12-4-0).

• DET sits 3rd in the Atlantic – tied in points with MTL at 67 but currently loses the tiebreaker to the Habs having lost both meetings against them this season (although they play each other twice more this season).

• DET trails division/conference leading TB by 2 points but has 2 games in hand on the Lightning.

• DET has made the postseason 23 consecutive seasons – the longest active streak in the league.

• DET G Jimmy Howard injured his groin on Jan. 10 and was expected to miss 2-4 weeks from the time of injury. The All-Star selection is still day-to-day and is hoping to return next week…22-year-old Petr Mrazek has started all 8 games in net since Howard’s injury.

• DET: 7-1-0 in last 8 games.

• 3.88 goals/game during this stretch (3+ goals scored in all 7 wins.)

• Mrazek: 6-1-0 record, 3.12 GAA, .897 SV% in last 8 starts.

• Stopped 22 of 23 shots in the Red Wings’ most recent game on Saturday vs. NYI.

• This season: 11-4-1, 2.66 GAA, .907 SV%.

• Started in net in the first meeting vs. COL this season: 22 saves on 23 shots in the 2-1 SO loss back on Dec. 21 in DET.

• Colorado is also a team playing much better than at the start of its season…it took the Avs until Dec. 23 to reach as many wins on the season as regulation losses (13-13-8 at the time) and until Jan. 8 to surpass their regulation loss total with wins (17-16-8 then)…

• Since Jan. 6, the Avs have earned at least a point in 10 of 12 games (7-2-3) and are allowing only 2.00 goals/game during this stretch.

• 4 of those 5 losses have been by 1-goal (including OT/SO games).

• Central Division scope: The Central has 3 of the top 4 teams in the West, and is the only division in the NHL in which every team is above .500 in points percentage.

• The Avs are 9 points back of Chicago for 3rd in the division but only 4 points behind VAN for the 2nd WC. COL is currently 9th – with 55 points – in a crowded race with 10-12th all at 54 points (MIN, DAL, LA).

DETROIT TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• DET ranks first in the league on the power-play (25.6%) & went 2-4 with the man advantage in its last game.

• DET is 7-for-its-last-15 (46.7%) on the PP in its last 6 games.

• Henrik Zetterberg recorded an assist on Saturday vs. NYI and now has 10 points (5G-5A) in his last 6 games.

• Zetterberg leads the team in both assists (31) & points (46) this season.

• Career vs. COL: 28 points (8G-20A) in 36 games.

• Gustav Nyquist leads the team in PPG (12) – 3rd overall in NHL (behind Alex Ovechkin/Joe Pavelski – 14).

• Nyquist scored against NYI & has 15 points (5G-10A) in his last 13 games including 5 goals in his last 8.

• Nyquist led the team in goals last season (28 in 57 GP) – 9 more than Tatar 2nd on the team.

• Nyquist has 43 goals in his last 84 regular-season games.

• Pavel Datsyuk has an assist in back-to-back games and 9 points (2G-7A) in his last 11 games.

• Career vs. COL: 44 points (18G-26A) in 41 games.

• Tomas Tatar scored vs. NYI and has 10 points (7G-3A) in the new year (12 GP). He has already set a new career high in goals with 22 (besting 19 from last season) and is on pace to surpass his career-high 39-point mark from last season with 35 points in 50 GP this season.

COLORADO TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• COL ranks 29th in the league on the PP (13.0%) and is 0-19 in its last 6 games with the man advantage.

• Two of the oldest members of the Avalanche - 35-year-old Alex Tanguay and 37-year-old Jarome Iginla – are the leading scorers on the team this season.

• Tanguay had his 3-game assist streak snapped at DAL (3A in his last 4 games).

• Career vs. DET: 35 points (12G-23A) in 40 games.

• Iginla leads the team in goals (16) but had his 3-game goal streak snapped at DAL (3G in his last 4 games).

• Career vs. DET: 56 points (22G-34A) in 66 games.

• The Avs have had a top-3 overall pick 3 times in the past 6 seasons. Those 3 players – Matt Duchene (3rd overall in 2009), captain Gabriel Landeskog (2nd overall in 2011), and Nathan MacKinnon (1st overall in 2013) are all performing below their 2013-14 season results but are coming on of late.

• Duchene had 70 pts in 71 games last season.

• He has 31 pts (13G-18A) in 51 games this season but 4 points in his last 5 games.

• Landeskog set career-highs last season in goals (26) and assists (39).

• He has 10 goals and 21 assists in 51 games this season but is riding a 3-game point streak (1G-2A).

• MacKinnon was last season’s Calder Trophy winner (top rookie) with 63 points.

• He had 2 assists vs. NSH two games ago but was held without a point at DAL...and has 29 points (9G-20A) in 51 games overall this season.

• Semyon Varlamov – a Vezina Trophy nominee last season – has started 16 of the 18 Avalanche games since returning from a groin injury; sustained Dec. 8 (missed 6 games).

• 16 gms since return: 10-4-2, 2.03 GAA, .936 SV%, 3 SO.