Denver, Co. – Last season’s President’s Trophy winners are in town to face off against the Colorado Avalanche for their first of two games against each other this season. The second game will be played in less than two weeks.
Mackenzie Blackwood will occupy the crease as tonight’s starter for the Avalanche. Scott Wedgewood will be back on the roster for the first time since his injury as tonight’s backup.
For the New York Rangers, it’ll be Igor Shesterkin in net with Jonathan Quick backing up.
The New York Rangers are 4-1-1 in their last six games, having picked up at least one point in their last four. Forward Matt Rempe picked up his first point this season during their last game, an assist on forward Adam Edstrom’s third-period goal. Edstrom’s goal was the first game-winning goal of his career.
1.) Throw an Avalanche of Shots onto the Rangers
The Avalanche are preparing to face their second Vezina-winning goaltender in two games. The first, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, shut the Avalanche out for the second time this season in Winnipeg. Tonight, the Avalanche face Igor Shesterkin, who won the trophy in 2021 and took the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final during last year’s postseason.
During their shutout loss against the Jets, the Avalanche posted their lowest shot count of 2025 at 22 shots. The only other game where the Avalanche have posted lower than 25 shots in a game this calendar year was during the shootout loss against the Montreal Canadiens on January 4th.
Though the stats for the Rangers in regards to shots are pretty evenly matched, the Avalanche have proven they’re the stronger team when they can post more than 23 shots a night. They’ll need to do that against what is sure to be a strong showing from a strong goaltender.
2.) Pick Up the Pace on the Power Play
The Avalanche are 0/13 on the power play in their last five games. On the other side of things, they are 10/10 on the penalty kill.
The last time they found the back of the net during the man-advantage was on January 2nd, during their 6-5 comeback win against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Rangers currently own the seventh-best penalty kill in the league. Just like Peter Laviolette, head coach of the Rangers, said tonight is an opportunity for his team to build on their positively trending game lately, tonight’s game would be a good opportunity for Colorado’s power play to resurge and get them back in the win column.
3.) Create Some Blue-Line Blues
Fans will be treated to a defensive showdown between Cale Makar and Adam Fox, both revered as offensively-minded defensemen.
Makar currently leads all NHL defensemen in assists (36) and points (49) and is tied for first in goals (13) with Zack Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets).
As far as Fox is concerned, he ranks sixth in points (33), is tied for fifth in assists (31, VGK’s Shea Theodore), and in a 48-way tie for 88th place in goals with just two.
The fact that he still ranks sixth in points is due to his innate playmaking ability, which despite the Rangers’ league ranking, is crucial for success. Take the last four games, during which the Rangers went 3-0-1: Adam Fox alone had four assists, and five points total.
When it comes to the Avalanche, the blue line has created some much-needed offense for the Avalanche outside of Makar. Take Devon Toews, who posted two goals in the team’s win over the Florida Panthers. Then there’s also Josh Manson, who was one of four other players to record a two-point night during last Thursday’s 6-1 win against the Minnesota Wild.
Where/How to Find the Game:
Puck Drop: 7:08 pm Mountain Time.
Tonight’s game is a local Altitude and Altitude+ broadcast for local Coloradans, though if they’re interested, the game will also be broadcast on KTVD (Channel 20) for those local to the Denver Metro area. Marc Moser and Mark Rycroft have the call tonight.
If radio is more your speed, Conor McGahey has the call over on Altitude Sports Radio.
For NYR fans, MSG Networks has the game covered.
Make sure you bookmark THN’s Colorado Avalanche site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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