The Colorado Avalanche put on a clinic in their season opener against Los Angeles on Wednesday night!
Tonight marks the first head-to-head match within the Central Division, with the St. Louis Blues making their first trip to Denver of the season.
Colorado Avalanche (1-0-0)
The Opponent: St. Louis Blues (1-0-0)
Time: 7:00 P.M. MDT/9:00 P.M. EDT
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Local Broadcast Area), STLNHL, BN+ (St. Louis Local Broadcast Area), ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Regional Broadcast Areas – US), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Canadian
Broadcast Areas)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs, having had four months to stew over being eliminated from the playoffs at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in May, took out their frustrations on former netminder Darcy Kuemper on their way to a lopsided 8-4 victory. The power play, which had been the Avs undoing against Vegas, got off to an impressive start. Brock Nelson led all skaters with three (3) power play points. Artturi Lehkonen scored two power play goals, and Nathan MacKinnon added another. In total, seven skaters collected points on the power play.
MacKinnon would also score another goal in this contest and, in the third period, put his goal-scoring hands to work in a brief but decisive fight against Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke.
Newcomer Jaden Schwartz also tallied a pair of assists in his Avalanche debut, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 of 31 shots in his first win of the season.
Head Coach Jared Bednar also said Zachary L’Heureux could be a possibility for today’s game, but it would depend on how he looks during morning skate. Bednar didn’t seem optimistic that Logan O’Connor would be ready to go for today’s game.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nazem Kadri
Jaden Schwartz – Fedor Svechkov – T.J. Hughes
Parker Kelly – Nicolas Roy
Defense:
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Noah Juulsen
Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
St. Louis Blues
St. Louis began their season on Friday evening against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. McTavish scored his first goal as a Blue—which ultimately stood as the game-winner—just barely over a minute and a half into the game. Dalibor Dvorský added a goal in the second period, while Jimmy Snuggerud and Pius Suter scored two empty-net goals in the third period to secure a 4-0 victory. Goaltender Joel Hofer stopped all twenty-four shots he faced for his first shutout win of the season.
The game was not without controversy. Early in the third period, Carlo made a dangerous knee-on-knee hit against Stars center Roope Hintz. Hintz did return to the game shortly after the hit, while Carlo earned a five-minute major and was ejected.
With Hofer getting the start in Dallas, expect Jordan Binnington to start in goal for St. Louis tonight. Loved by some and reviled by many, Binnington is entering the last year of his six-year contract with St. Louis. With Hofer being positioned to succeed him as the starter in goal, this season may be the final one in a Blues sweater for the thirty-three-year-old Binnington.
Montgomery also said that right-wing Alexsey Toropchenko, who was injured early in the Dallas game, is “more than day-to-day” but is waiting for more information on his status as of this writing.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Dylan Holloway – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
Pavel Buchnevich – Mason McTavish – Connor McMichael
Jake Neighbours – Dalibor Dvorský – Jonatan Berggren
Dillon Dubé – Pius Suter – Ross Johnston
Defense:
Philip Broberg – Adam Jiříček
Theo Lindstein – Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler – Brandon Carlo
Between the Pipes:
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
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