New look, old rival: the Colorado Avalanche debut their Hometown Remix jersey collection as their two game home stand wraps up against the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
The new threads may be a fresh coat of paint for the Avs, but perhaps revisiting a decades-old rivalry could bring them some new life to go with them.
Colorado Avalanche (9-6-2)
The Opponent: Detroit Red Wings (7-7-3)
Time: 7:00 P.M. MST/9:00 P.M. EST
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Colorado Avalanche
The rivalry with Detroit is a far cry from what it used to be, but another late start won’t go over well in the eyes of many who believe that the Red Wings do, in fact, suck.
The Avalanche are coming off of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators as they head into tonight’s contest. Former Avs forward Ross Colton put the Avs down early, but Jaden Schwartz responded to tie things up. After trailing 2-1 to start the second period, Parker Kelly scored to tie things up again. Minutes after overtime began, Devon Toews would be called for a questionable hooking penalty, leading to the eventual game-winner. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped twenty-two of twenty-five shots in the game.
Over the course of the week, the Avs been forced to play catch-up to the opposition. While they were able to overcome an early two-goal deficit to Chicago on Monday, they couldn’t duplicate the same results against Columbus or Nashville. The entire first line of Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Nečas have not scored a goal since Halloween. Even a slight bump in production from any of these players could have meant the difference in a close game like Thursday’s against Nashville.
In speaking to reporters yesterday, head coach Jared Bednar emphasized the importance of better defensive play over offensive output. “I would give up some [offensive] production over the first sixteen games for a better defensive effort,” he said. “That’s where I’m at. I think the offense will take care of itself.
“There’s a lot of things in [Thursday] night’s game where I’m like, ‘Man, we could be so much better offensively,’ and that’s what I’m talking about. Like, the defending side was good, now, what do we do with the puck? So, they’ll see some of the good defensive stuff because it leads to like, okay, now we’re off. Now, what are we doing with it offensively. […] We have to keep expecting a lot from our team offensively, and we’re going to expect a lot from them on the defensive side and try to build it to where it’s really consistent in our game.”
Bednar didn’t have much of an update regarding the injured Zachary L’Heureux, other than to say that it was a long-term injury and doesn’t have a timeline for his return.
Blackwood returns to the crease tonight to wrap up the home stand.
MacKinnon still leads all skaters in points (27) and assists (18). Lehkonen leads the team in goals (12).
With the exception of Winnipeg, all Central Division teams are in action tonight. A win tonight can keep the Avs within reach of Utah and Dallas, while remaining ahead of Nashville, St. Louis and Chicago in the Central Division standings. The Avs split the season series against Detroit last year, winning by a 5-0 margin on the road on January 31.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy
Jaden Schwartz – Nazem Kadri – T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly – Fedor Svechkov – Logan O’Connor
Defense:
Cale Makar – Brett Kulak
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski
Noah Juulsen – Brent Burns
Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Detroit Red Wings
Rather than leaning into the decades-long rivalry against Colorado, Detroit has had its hands full with a rivalry with one of their own. Captain Dylan Larkin, who’s trade demands request remains unfulfilled, informed Detroit’s front office on October 29 that he would not play for the team. The team responded by suspending Larkin without pay the same day.
“Dylan Larkin has informed us that he will no longer play for the Detroit Red Wings,” The organization announced in a statement on social media. “We are disappointed by his decision, particularly given his obligations to the organization and his teammates. We have therefore suspended Dylan without pay.”
The ongoing situation cost Steve Yzerman his general manager title over the summer, with Shawn Horcoff being named interim general manager in his place. The thirty-year old Larkin has five years remaining on his contract.
Despite the drama hanging over the team regarding their captain, Detroit has tried to soldier on as best as possible. Horcoff was especially busy as free agency began on July 01. Left wing Alex DeBrincat signed a seven-year, $91 million dollar contract extension, while free agents Viktor Arvidsson and goaltender Daniil Tarosov signed a two-year, $10 million dollar contract and a one-year, $2 million dollar contract, respectively. Right wing Keegan Kolesar was acquired via trade from the Vegas Golden Knights the same day.
Even with the moves made in the offseason, Detroit has struggled to find its footing. They sit in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 7-7-3 record and having lost three of their last four games, their most recent coming this past Thursday at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena by a 2-1 decision. Neither team scored until Anton Johansson scored early in the third period, but Vegas countered with two goals of their own to secure the win. Tarasov, playing in the place of the injured John Gibson, stopped thirty-one of thirty three shots on goal.
Gibson, who sustained a lower body injury during Detroit’s 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning this past Tuesday, returned to practice yesterday. His status is currently unknown as of this writing. Barring any updates as the day progresses, Tarasov will likely get the start again tonight against Colorado.
Tonight marks the beginning of a four game road trip for Detroit before hosting Boston at home on November 18. Prior to Thursday’s home game against Vegas, Detroit played in a back-to-back pair of games against Tampa and Florida to start the month.
DeBrincat and Lucas Raymond lead all Detroit skaters in points (16). Arvidsson leads the team in goals (8), while Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider lead the team in assists (10). Defenseman Ben Chiarot leads all Detroit skaters in penalty minutes (21), with Kolesar a close second (20).
Detroit defeated Colorado by a 2-0 decision during their previous visit to Denver on February 02.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Alex DeBrincat – Emmitt Finnie – Viktor Arvidsson
Michael Brandsegg-Nygård – Andrew Copp – Lucas Raymond
Michael Rasmussen – J.T. Compher – Nate Danielson
Carter Mazur – Sheldon Dries – Keegan Kolesar
Defense:
Ben Chiarot – Moritz Seider
William Wallinder – Justin Faulk
Andreas Englund – Anton Johansson
Between the Pipes:
Daniil Tarasov
Michal Postava
