Wednesday, the Colorado Avalanche will faceoff against the 11-5-5 Ottawa Senators at 7:30 p.m. MST in what will be their first home game in 19 calendar days. The Senators are playing the second night of a back-to-back. On Tuesday night, Ottawa beat the Dallas Stars, who are in a three-way tie for most points in the league with 34.
The matchup with Ottawa is a big game for the Avalanche considering they have an opportunity to take advantage of a tired team and improve their home record. So far this year Colorado has posted a 2-5-1 record at home; improving their record at Pepsi Center is a must.
“We want to jump all over them, you know, it’s tough to play at altitude,” Matt Duchene said Wednesday. “We want to go hard on the net, they had a tough game last night, obviously. A high-scoring, wide open game sometimes takes as much out of you as those tight checking ones.”
The Senators are not the only ones having to adjust to the altitude, however. The Avalanche, having just come off a seven-game trip much closer to sea level will have some adjustments to make as well.
“It’s going to be tough for us too, tonight a little bit. We didn’t skate yesterday, most of us,” Duchene said about readjusting to altitude. “The air’s going to be thin, we will have to get our legs under us quick.”
The meeting with the Senators will also mark the first home game for newly acquired Avalanche center Chris Wagner. The 6-foot 195-pound former Anaheim Duck joined the team before Colorado played the Maple Leafs on Nov. 17 and looks forward to his first home game. “It’s always nice to come to your home building. Obviously I haven’t gotten to experience it on this side yet, so I’m excited,” Wagner stated. “It was maybe a struggle the first two games, but I think I found a niche here. I know my role, I’ve just got to play it well.”
Former Colorado Avalanche goaltender, Craig Anderson, will make his second start in a row against his old team. He has a 9-4 record so far this season and has posted a .919 save percentage, averaging 2.69 goals against.