The Colorado Avalanche are set to welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening for a late-night and nationally televised contest in downtown Denver, Colorado.
It’s not yet been confirmed, but Sidney Crosby was a full participant at today’s morning skate and could return to play his first game since suffering an injury at the hands of Radko Gudas in the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
This could have been the first game against his former
club for Sam Girard, who won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, but it appears he won’t be in the lineup.
Can Colorado bounce back after a loss to a Winnipeg Jets team that has struggled all season? The Penguins continue to climb the Metropolitan Division standings and are currently sitting in second place.
Will the Pens build on their recent success or be shown the ropes by the league-leading Avalanche?
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche didn’t quite undergo the full facelift we saw last season ahead of the deadline, but there are a few new kids on the block as a result of dealing away some players we saw at the beginning of the season.
Brett Kulak has swapped in for Sam Girard, who will return to Ball Arena but isn’t likely to play. Victor Olofsson was dealt as part of re-acquiring Nazem Kadri, who’s fallen right into the fold yet again.
All of Colorado’s trade pieces have been good at the start, as Nicolas Roy has also logged some power-play goals. Keep an eye on the new guys again tonight!
The Avalanche have to figure things out between the pipes, as assumed back-up Scott Wedgewood has emerged as the likely 1A, with hopeful starter MacKenzie Blackwood still struggling to find his game after recovering from off-season surgery.
The plan in Colorado was to have MacKenzie Blackwood as the starter, and the pay scale shows that, but you gotta ride the hot hand, and Scott Wedgewood has been downright great game in and game out. He’s earned the starter’s net as far as I’m concerned.
Projected Lineup:
Martin Necas — Nathan MacKinnon — Nazem Kadri
Ross Colto — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Parker Kelly — Nicolas Roy — Gavin Brindley
Zakhar Bardakov — Jack Drury — Joel Kiviranta
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood
Pittsburgh Penguins
As mentioned in the intro, the Penguins have been winners since the Olympic break, despite losing their captain, Sidney Crosby. You know what they say, good teams find a way, and this Penguins team should make the playoffs and could make a real run in a tight, but lackluster, metro. The NHL is a better place when Sidney Crosby is in the playoffs.
Sam Girard could get a tribute video tonight despite being in the press box, probably to the shegrin of some of the more doltish fans, but make no mistake: Sam Girard was a huge part of Colorado’s success in the 2022 season and throughout his tenure in burgundy and blue. He deserves the recognition he will get tonight.
Sidney Crosby did appear in full contact gear for the morning skate, but it remains to be seen if he will, in fact, slot back into the lineup to face his Nova Scotian buddy in Nathan MacKinnon.
Projected Lineup:
Anthony Mantha — Rickard Rakell — Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov — Tommy Novak — Evgeni Malkin
Ville Koivunen — Ben Kindel — Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom — Connor Dewar — Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea — Kris Letang
Ilya Solovyov — Connor Clifton
Arturs Silovs
Stuart Skinner
