On Thursday night, the Colorado Avalanche (2-4-0) will hit the road for a showdown with the undefeated St. Louis Blues (5-0-0). St. Louis beat the Avalanche 5-3 in the second game of the season, though the Avs were without Nathan MacKinnon (COVID-19 protocols) and Gabriel Landeskog in that contest.
Puck drop is at 8:00 PM Eastern on ESPN+ (locally on Altitude Sports).
Colorado Avalanche Preview
The Avalanche have struggled defensively this season, and the bad situation is going to get worse. With Devon Toews still out until at least Saturday, Colorado’s blue line will take another hit with two more key injuries.
Defenseman Samuel Girard is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and has already been ruled out of Thursday’s contest. Forward Valeri Nichushkin, who is one of the best defensive forwards in the league, will be out as well with an upper-body injury of his own. Girard is expected to return sooner than Nichushkin, but the Avs will be shorthanded without those two.
Though Bowen Byram (one goal, four assists) and Cale Makar (one goal, three assists) have played well offensively, Colorado has still allowed the third-most goals against per game (3.83) in the league. The Avalanche trail only the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks in that category, and as of writing, both of those teams are winless.
The best way to respond to the injuries will be with a dominant offense, especially with the top line back together for the rematch. Landeskog, MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen make up one of the most dominant lines in hockey, and they’ve been among the highest-scoring line combinations in recent years.
Colorado has not announced a starter as of writing. Darcy Kuemper (2-3-0, 3.22 GAA, .900 save percentage) figures to get the nod in net, but Jonas Johansson (0-1-0, 3.03 GAA, .919 save percentage) could get an extra look with the Avalanche only playing three more games between this contest and November 10.
St. Louis Blues Preview
The Blues are a well-tuned machine right now. They’re scoring more goals per game (5.00) than any other team in the league, and they’re also allowing the fourth-fewest at 2.20 per game. St. Louis is only two seasons removed from their Stanley Cup win, and with most of the roster from that team still intact, the Blues will be a thorn in Colorado’s side as the season progresses.
David Perron (six goals, two assists) has led the way offensively, but he’s tied for the team lead in points with Jordan Kyrou (two goals, six assists). The pair combined for two goals and two assists in the previous meeting with Colorado, and neither tallied a point on the same play as the other.
The Avs will catch a break as Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis’ top center, will be in COVID-19 protocol and out of the lineup on Thursday. O’Reilly is a faceoff specialist and a strong two-way forward, with two goals and three assists in five games this season.
Former Avalanche forward Brandon Saad will be out of the Blues’ lineup as well, also in COVID-19 protocol. Saad has two points in three games to begin the campaign.
Like Colorado, the Blues have not named a starter as of writing, meaning we could see either Jordan Binnington (4-0-0, 2.75 GAA, .919 save percentage) or Ville Husso (1-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 save percentage, one shutout) between the pipes. Binnington is more likely to start between the two.
Game Odds
Moneyline: Colorado Avalanche (-125) at St. Louis Blues (+105)
Puck Line: Colorado Avalanche -1.5 goals (+185) at St. Louis Blues +1.5 goals (-225)
Game Total: OVER six goals (-120), UNDER six goals (+100)
The Pick Is In
With O’Reilly and Saad out and with Landeskog and MacKinnon back in, this game should be much more evenly matched among the forwards than what we saw last time out. However, that doesn’t mean the Avalanche can take the Blues lightly. Especially with the championship expectations this team has, Colorado needs to snap out of their losing ways as soon as possible.
It’s weird to see an undefeated team as a home betting underdog. However, the defensive injuries to Colorado could be too much to overcome. I’m taking St. Louis to remain undefeated and beat the Avalanche on Thursday night.
Betting Pick: St. Louis Blues Moneyline (+105)