The Colorado Avalanche are back on home ice tonight! After securing two wins in Buffalo and Columbus, they put their unbeaten streak against the Eastern Conference to the test against the Boston Bruins.
Colorado Avalanche (4-0-1)
The Opponent: Boston Bruins (3-2-0)
Time: 7:00 P.M. MDT/9:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, KTVD, NESN
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
Matinee matches are rather common during the regular season, and while it’s been awhile since the Avalanche have participated in a weekday matinee, they were more than
up to the task in Buffalo. Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Nečas combined for a four point outing en route to a 3-1 victory. Scott Wedgewood continued his stellar play in net, turning aside 27 of 28 shots he faced.
Wedgewood would get the call three nights later in Columbus against the Blue Jackets, and although a blistering shot from Adam Fantilli off his collarbone left him smarting, he secured his fourth win in five starts as the Avs defeated Columbus by a score of 4-1. Brock Nelson scored his first goal of the season, which turned out to be the game-winner. Reigning Norris trophy winner Cale Makar, appearing in his 400th career game, opened the scoring for the Avs. Nečas pocketed his sixth assist of the season on Makar’s goal, and now leads the team with nine points in the team’s first five games (3G/6A/9PTS).
While the perception of these victories against Buffalo and Columbus might be that these were “easy” wins, they presented Grade A opportunities to bank points as they jockey for position in the Central Division. The Avs certainly understood the assignment: coming into tonight’s game, they sit atop the division with nine points. A victory over Boston would add to their early season cushion over the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars, who sit in second and third place in the division, respectively. Both Winnipeg and Dallas will be in action on Saturday evening: Winnipeg hosts the Nashville Predators, while Dallas visits St. Louis to face the Blues. All four teams have six points in the division standings, so there’s bound to be a shakeup among them regardless of the outcome in these games.
The Avalanche have not lost to an Eastern Conference opponent on Ball Arena ice since January 4, 2025, a 2-1 shootout decision against the Montreal Canadiens. However, they will be seeking their first win against Boston since January 8, 2024, a 4-3 shootout victory.
***One lineup change is expected after morning skate as the Avalanche announced Joel Kiviranta is out indefinitely with a lower body injury. In his place is the expected Avalanche and NHL debut for Zakhar Bardakov.
Projected Lineup
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly – Zakhar Bardakov – Gavin Brindley
Cale Makar – Devon Toews
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov – Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
Boston Bruins
Boston is hoping that the 2025-2026 season will erase the disastrous and drama-filled campaign of the previous year. A protracted and contentious contract dispute with goaltender Jeremy Swayman played out in the public lens, and while both sides ultimately agreed on a long-term deal, the team couldn’t quite right the ship as the season unfolded. The organization’s dismissal of head coach Jim Montgomery didn’t yield any improvement, and as it became evident that the team was not going to be the championship contender it had been for the past several years, the organization began overhauling its roster. The most seismic move came in the trade of captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. Marchand would go on to win his second Stanley Cup title and first with Florida (who would re-sign him in the offseason), while Boston spent a very long summer looking for answers.
A couple of familiar faces will be in the Boston lineup tonight. Casey Mittlestadt, who was acquired from Buffalo in March 2024 in exchange for Bowen Byram, will make his first visit to Colorado since being traded to Boston at the trade deadline last season for Charlie Coyle as part of Boston’s roster makeover. Despite his hot start at the beginning of last season, Mittlestadt’s play sputtered as the year progressed, leading to his departure. He played eighteen games with Boston to finish the year, registering four goals and two assists for a total of six points. Currently, he has two goals in Boston’s first five games this season.
Another familiar face among the Boston bunch is former Avs defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who signed a six-year contract with Boston prior to the start of the 2024-2025 season. In his first season in Boston, Zadorov posted four goals and eighteen assists for a total of twenty-two points. Zadorov has registered a goal and an assist for two points in five games with Boston thus far.
Right wing David Pastrnak leads Boston with two goals and four assists for six points in five games, while centers Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha are tied for second in team scoring: Lindholm has two goals and three assists in five games, while Zacha has one goal and four assists during that span.
Boston has lost their previous two games, their most recent defeat coming at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights (a 6-5 decision) at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night. Tonight marks the second game of a three-game road trip for Boston, and the first game of a back-to-back set, as they will visit Utah to face the Mammoth at the Delta Center on Sunday evening.
Boston has won the last three regular season games against Colorado, outscoring the Avalanche 13-6 during that stretch.
Projected Lineup
Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Pavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Michael Eyssimont
Jeffrey Truchon-Viel – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov – Henri Jokiharju
Jordan Harris – Andrew Peeke
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
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