Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs. LA Kings (7:00 p.m.)

SB Nation

Tonight, the Los Angeles Kings will step into Ball Arena, a place where no visiting team has won in regulation so far this season. Pretty remarkable considering we are already 17 home games into the season. The

Avalanche are winners of seven straight contests and will hope to push it to eight in what could be Anze Kopitar’s last visit to Colorado as a professional hockey player. Will the Kings do what no team has done before and steal a win in regulation, or will the vaunted Avalanche continue to steamroll teams at home?

Colorado Avalanche: 28-2-7

The Opponent: Los Angeles Kings 16-12-9

Time: 7:00 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, ESPN+

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche did something in their last victory that they hadn’t done before, which came as a pleasant surprise to most Avalanche fans. They overcame a two-goal deficit and defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout of all things. This was an unorthodox victory, no matter how you look at it, with the Avalanche playing from behind the entire game up until MacKinnon’s shootout tally. Imagine how frustrating that would be: beat or tie a team for 65 minutes, only to lose in a shootout? Ouchtown.

Colorado has also been slowly improving on the power play, and I anticipate a breakout performance from PP1 any game now. Perhaps tonight is the night Colorado plays their first home game since the holiday break.

Nathan MacKinnon is still on pace to finish with 69 goals this season, but I want (Kylo Ren voice) more! Colorado has never had a 60-goal scorer, much less a 70-goal scorer. Achieving that goal, winning another cup, the Hart trophy (again), and a Conn Smythe would cement Nate Dogg as the greatest Avalanche player of all time. The current single-season goals record is 57 goals set by Michel Goulet in the 1982-83 season for the Nordiques.

Projected Lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Victor Olofsson — Ross Colton — Gavin Brindley
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Joel Kiviranta

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Samuel Girard — Sam Malinsk

MacKenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Los Angeles Kings

As previously mentioned, this is the Anze Kopitar farewell tour for the Kings, but they are trying to extend it into the postseason, currently holding the first wild-card position. Alex Laferriere seems to, in fact, be a great NHLer and had his first career hat-trick in LA’s last contest, where they defeated the Ducks 6-1. Laferriere was LA’s 83rd pick in the 2020 draft.

The Kings got back in the win column with that sound victory over Anaheim and look to start a winning streak of their own. For LA, the struggle has been putting the puck in the net, as they are one of three teams in the league still without 100 GF this season—great time to matchup with the Avalanche, who are sporting a +63 goal differential.

Keep an eye on Brandt Clarke, who was running around cross-checking and pestering Avalanche players the last time these two met. He may get a comeuppance this time around.