Preview: Dragons, Riders & Sabres at Ball Arena

SB Nation

Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche welcome the Buffalo Sabres and fans to Fourth Wing Night at Ball Arena. The Avalanche come into this showdown as the NHL’s best squad and hope to take care of business with

a struggling Sabres group. Can the Avalanche continue on this torrid pace of securing a point in every home game so far? Or will the Sabres go full-on plot-twist and upset Colorado?

Colorado Avalanche:
11-1-5

The Opponent: Buffalo Sabres 5-7-4

Time: 7:00 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, ESPN+

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM

Colorado Avalanche

This is the kind of game that the Avalanche should cruise through. I’m not saying they can win effortlessly, but it shouldn’t take long for the Avalanche to get a firm hold on this one (on the scoreboard) early, with Buffalo currently touting the league’s FOURTH-worst goal differential (-11). This is especially true if the Avalanche continue to play the way they did while beating the Pacific-leading Ducks for their FOURTH straight victory.

Nathan MacKinnon has scored three or more points in a single game five times already this year, and I’m keying on him doing that yet again tonight. MacKinnon is starting an early and effective Hart Trophy campaign alongside a Norris Bid from his good buddy Cale Makar.

Unfortunately, it does appear that Val Nichushkin will miss some time after sustaining an injury during Colorado’s impressive victory over the Ducks. Bednar mentioned today that Val will miss some time but that he’s not yet sure just how much.

It’s a good thing the Avalanche have received plenty of depth contributions as of late, and are benefiting from the budding career of Gavin Brindley. I’d expect either Gabe Landeskog or Victor Olofsson to slot into the top six in the absence of Nichushkin.

This is the perfect night for MacKenzie Blackwood to get back between the pipes and a great night to offer a performance that spurs on his resurgence. He is the confirmed starter tonight for the Avalanche.

Projected Lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Ross Colton — Brock Nelson — Victor Olofsson (Valeri Nichushkin)
Gabe Landeskog — Jack Drury — Gavin Brindley
Parker Kelly — Zakhar Bardakov — Tristen Nielsen

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Jack Ahcan — Sam Malinski

MacKenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Buffalo Sabres

Despite their efforts, I’m afraid this Sabres team presents like one that will miss the playoffs for a 15th consecutive season. Their chances have been significantly impacted by a litany of injuries and other factors, resulting in a roster that is heavily depleted.

The lack of depth and name recognition at the center position is glaring, which leads me to my prediction for Nathan MacKinnon. When you consider that the Sabres played just last night against the Utah Mammoth and had you read my article about the advantages at altitude, you should view this as a scheduled loss for Buffalo.