GDT #50: Blues @ Avalance | 2:00 pm CT | Hulu/ESPN+, 101 ESPN
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2023 10:16 am
TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues took one of the more difficult losses of the season on Thursday, falling 5-0 to the seventh-place Arizona Coyotes at the start of a three-game road trip against division opponents.
Justin Faulk scored an early goal, though it was waved off due to goaltender interference; and Robert Thomas exited the game in the second period due to injury, making the tall task of a comeback in a unique and unfamilar building even greater.
"You gotta have emotion, you gotta want to win puck battles and you gotta want to play a certain way," said Craig Berube on Friday. "The last three games, we have not wanted to play that way for 60 minutes - that's the bottom line."
Berube and the Blues will be looking to come out of the gate strong as they continue the road trip, having gone four straight games without a first-period goal for the first time all season.
Heading to Colorado for a Saturay afternoon game and continuing to Winnipeg on Monday night, the Blues have two more games before 11 days off for the All-Star break - both against strong divisional opponents.
They'll head to Ball Arena in Denver with a record of 23-23-3, back at .500 for the first time since Dec. 31 and currently sixth in the Central Division.
AVALANCHE The Colorado Avalanche are threatening to climb up the standings after an up-and-down stretch, winning six games in a row but falling to Anaheim on Thursday night. Prior to the six-game win streak, the Avs lost five out of seven from Dec. 27 to Jan. 12 - including their own losses to Arizona and Chicago.
Injuries have been the primary driver of Colorado's inconsistency as they were without star Nathan MacKinnon for 11 games in December and Cale Makar for four games last week - as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog for the season to date, among others. Both MacKinnon and Makar have returned to the lineup for Thursday's game against Anaheim, each logging an assist as the Avalanche fell 5-3.
The Avalanche were up 3-2 after the second period, but the Ducks scored three unanswered goals in the third to take the game in Denver and end the Avs' winning streak.
"We didn't play with the same urgency, intensity and physicality that we needed to in order to win the hockey game," said Head Coach Jared Bednar.
The Avalanche will host the Blues to wrap up a three-game homestand, their final game before the All-Star break. They'll enter the game with a record of 26-18-3, worth 55 points and fourth place in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Blues are 1-0-1 against the Avs this season, winning in regulation at Ball Arena on Nov. 14 and falling in overtime at home on Dec. 11. The season series concludes shortly after the All-Star break at Enterprise Center on Feb. 18.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Jordan Kyrou, who has been one of the top road-game performers in the NHL this season. His 15 goals in enemy territory share No. 6 in the League, including one at Colorado earlier this season.
AVALANCHE Cale Makar, reigning Conn Smythe Playoff MVP winner and No. 6 in scoring by NHL defensemen this season. Makar has a seven-game point streak entering Saturday's battle, including four missed games with an upper-body injury.
BLUE NOTES
Including the 2022 postseason, the Blues have won three straight games in Colorado and are 4-1-1 in their last six... Jordan Binnington's next appearance in goal will be No. 200 in his NHL career, currently tied with Grant Fuhr for fourth most wins in franchise history with 108... The Blues have eight different skaters with at least 10 goals this season, sharing the NHL lead... In their last 22 games since Dec. 11, the Blues have gone 51-for-60 (85 percent), on the penalty kill, which is the No. 5 penalty kill in the NHL in that span.
The Colorado Avalanche were in perfect position to go into their bye week riding an eight-game winning streak before a new outlook developed.
After a disappointing 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, Colorado is hoping to avoid a two-game skid ahead of a nine-day break.
The Avalanche, who host the St. Louis Blues in an afternoon game on Saturday in Denver, will try to erase the bad taste of blowing a two-goal lead against the lowly Ducks.
Colorado had been rolling until Thursday, winning six straight, but there were warning signs of pending trouble in a 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Avalanche were outplayed for long stretches before they escaped with the win.
When Colorado let up Thursday, the Ducks didn't let the defending champs off the hook. Anaheim dominated the third period and left Colorado coach Jared Bednar miffed.
"I don't like getting outworked for stretches that cost you hockey games," Bednar said. "And that's what it was. Let's call it what it is. The intensity that they came out with in the start of the third period, and what we had, was not comparable. It doesn't surprise you that you let the game slip away. And we're too deep in the season now for that to happen."
The loss also spoiled two returns. Defenseman Cale Makar was back after missing four games with an upper-body injury, and Matt Nieto donned an Avalanche uniform for the first time in four years after he was acquired from the San Jose Sharks.
Nieto adds a grinder presence that was absent with Darren Helm out -- possibly for the season. Colorado also hopes forward Val Nichushkin can return Saturday after missing Thursday's game with an upper-body injury.
The Avalanche could be getting more players back, but likely not for Saturday. Defensemen Josh Manson and Bowen Byram were practicing with the team Friday afternoon, but Bednar has indicated that both are candidates to be back in the lineup after the team returns from the break.
St. Louis has its own issues to work through. The Blues have dropped three straight, including a 5-0 loss at Arizona on Thursday.
St. Louis also is dealing with injuries. Captain Ryan O'Reilly has been out for a month with a broken foot and Pavel Buchnevich was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday with an ankle injury that will keep him sidelined until after the All-Star break.
St. Louis missed an opportunity to gain points with the three losses -- two of those at home.
"Those are three teams where, if you look at the schedule, and with all due respect to every team -- anybody can beat anyone -- those are the games that you have to play better in and get points," the Blues' Brayden Schenn said. "To come away with zero points it's obviously tough, and now you find yourself digging a hole again."
The Blues and Colorado have split the first two games of their four-game season series, with each winning on the road. The Avalanche won the most recent matchup, 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 11, when Mikko Rantanen notched his fifth career hat trick.
