The Avalanche will honor Alex Tanguay in a pregame ceremony before he plays in his 1,000th NHL game Wednesday when Colorado takes on Pittsburgh at the Pepsi Center.
Joey Hishon, who made his NHL debut against Minnesota last May in the playoffs, will play in his first regular-season NHL game. He'll center the fourth line with Cody McLeod on the left and Marc-Andre Cliche on the right. Daniel Briere will be scratched.
Here are the game notes.
“It just means I’ve been around for a long time,… said Tanguay, who will wear an Avalanche uniform for the 528th time. "I don’t know if it’s an accomplishment or what it is exactly, but as a kid, I always dreamed of playing in the NHL. My goal was getting there and I never thought I’d get (1,000 games). It’s been fun and hopefully there’s a lot more to go.…
Tanguay, 35, was one of the Avalanche's four first-round picks (12th overall) in 1998. The others: Martin Skoula, Robyn Regehr, Scott Parker.
Tanguay spent his first six seasons with the Avalanche and finished second among NHL rookies in scoring in 1999-2000 with 51 points (17 goals, 34 assists). He had two goals and an assist in Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals when Colorado defeated New Jersey 3-1 for its second championship.
“I still get goosebumps talking about the whole experience, getting a chance to do it here in Denver in front of the fans,… Tanguay said. “What a feeling.…
Tanguay was traded to Calgary on June 24, 2006 for Jordan Leopold and two draft picks. He also played for Montreal and Tampa Bay, and had a second stint with the Flames. He returned to the Avalanche on June 27, 2013 with Cory Sarich in exchange for David Jones and Shane O'Brien.
Tanguay missed most of last season because of hip and knee injuries. He's the Avalanche's third-leading scorer this year with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 61 games, two points behind Jarome Iginla and one back of Matt Duchene.
"I still feel good," said Tanguay, who has next season remaining on his contract. "I missed pretty much all of last year with injuries, (there was) a year lockout, a half-year lockout ... I could easily be at 1,200 games. I’ve always tried to do the best that I can and I’m still going to try to do it. For how much longer, we’ll see how everything pans out and how everything plays out.
"But I still enjoy coming to the rink every day and I’m hoping that it’s going to continue for a little bit longer.…
Tanguay collected his first NHL point in his first game, Oct. 5 against Nashville, and his first goal Oct. 8 at Pittsburgh.
He's ninth in Quebec/Colorado history with 451 points (157 goals, 294 assists), seven points behind Paul Stastny for eighth. He's tied with Chris Drury for 11th on the franchise career playoff scoring list with 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists) in 83 games. His six game-winning goals in the postseason are fourth.
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Avalanche right wing Nathan MacKinnon and Penguins center Sidney Crosby are looking forward to playing against each other Wednesday. They're good friends who train together in the Halifax area during the summer.
"I know how good he is and what he can do out there," Crosby said after the morning skate. "I'm not sure if we'll be matched up against one another or not, but there's always a little bit of competition there, I think."
MacKinnon was born in Halifax and grew up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, which he said is "right across the street from" Cole Harbour, Crosby's hometown.
"It's fun playing against him," MacKinnon said. "We always want to beat each other for sure. It's going to be tough to stop him. We have to play very sound and tight."
Crosby expects a fast-paced game between free-wheeling teams that like to skate.
"In the past I remember the games being pretty up and down, not necessarily with a ton of scoring," he said. "It's been kind of weird the way it's worked out where we've had 1-0 and 2-1 games, but it wasn't for a lack of scoring chances. We want to make sure that we limit them, but when two teams play a similar style like that, usually you get a pretty good brand on the ice, some good skill up and back."
Here's the Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon Jordan Caron - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Dennis Everberg Cody McLeod - Joey Hishon - Marc-Andre Cliche
DEFENSE Jan Hejda - Zach Redmond Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie Brad Stuart - Nick Holden
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Reto Berra