Down their best defenseman, the Avalanche put a beating on Calgary on Wednesday night, getting out to an early three goal lead and never looking back. They’ll look to extend their win streak to four games on Friday night, when they take on the Vancouver Canucks.
Alexandar Georgiev did his part in net, stopping 34 of the 35 shots that came his way. He had been back-up for the previous three games while Pavel Francouz held down the fort in net. Georgiev is expected to start in net again.
There was some good news out of morning skate: Cale Makar skated. The team announced he would not be playing, but a good sign the injury likely is not serious. He is an option to play tomorrow in Seattle.
The Canucks currently sit 12 points out of a playoff spot, and are entering “blow it up” mode. They’ve lost five of six, and appear to be headed towards a reset as an organization. Bo Horvat continues to be at the center of trade talks, and the Avalanche have shown interest. Whether they have the assets to pull it off, or even want too, is another question altogether.
One thing the Avalanche will look to avoid: being swept by Vancouver in the season series. This is the third and final meeting between the teams, and Vancouver has won the first two matchups.
Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Evan Rodrigues
Valeri Nichushkin – J.T. Compher – Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano – Alex Newhook – Logan O’Connor
Anton Blidh – Ben Meyers
Defense
Devon Toews – Erik Johnson
Samuel Girard – Brad Hunt
Kurtis MacDermid – Jacob MacDonald
Andreas Englund
Goalies
Alexandar Georgiev
Pavel Francouz
Expected Vancouver Canucks Lines, per
Andrei Kuzmenko – Elias Pettersson – Brock Boeser
J.T. Miller – Bo Horvat – Conor Garland
Ilya Mikheyev – Sheldon Dries – Jack Studnicka
Dakota Joshua – Curtis Lazar – William Lockwood
Defense:
Quinn Hughes – Luke Schenn
Kyle Burroughs – Ethan Bear
Goalies:
Colin Delia
Spencer Martin
Special Teams
Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 24.2%, 12th in NHL
Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 75.5%, 21st in NHL
Vancouver Canucks Power Play: 24.5%, 10th in NHL
Vancouver Canucks Penalty Kill: 66.9%, 32nd in NHL
How to Watch
TV: ESPN+, Altitude TV, Sportsnet
Radio: 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio
Game Time: 8:00 PM MST