It’s a Colorado Avalanche gameday!
After a letdown performance in Chicago on Wednesday, a dominant performance in the club’s 6-1 win over the Minnesota Wild Thursday got the Avs back on track with their ascent of the Central Division. Coming into tonight, the Avs still sit in 4th in the division but are hot on the tails of Dallas, Minnesota, and Winnipeg. An Avs win in regulation tonight could see the Avs could leapfrog the Stars and sit one point behind the Stars, albeit Dallas and Minnesota have games in hand on the Avs.
Defenseman Samuel Girard, who missed the contest against the Wild with an undisclosed injury, is set to miss his second consecutive contest tonight. Head Coach Jared Bednar indicated that the Avs will ice the same lineup they did in Minnesota, with Calvin De Haan filling in for Girard.
Mackenzie Blackwood will draw the start for the Avs, in his most important start to date for the club. Blackwood boasts the league’s best save percentage and goals against average since debuting in the Avs crease on December 14th, with a .948 SV% and 1.48 GAA (min. five starts). Hellebuyck has a .926 SV% and 1.99 GAA in that same span.
Mackenzie Blackwood ranks 4th in @NHL in save percentage & has best mark since joining @Avalanche
SV% LEADERS
.927 Stolarz (TOR)
.926 Hellebuyck (WPG)
.921 Kuemper (LAK)
.920 Blackwood (COL)SV% SINCE DEC. 14
.940 Blackwood (COL)
.934 Samsonov (VGK)
.934 Kuemper (LAK)— Brendan McNicholas (@bmcnich) January 11, 2025
Blackwood was the goalie of choice for the Avs’ 5-2 routing of the Jets on New Year’s Eve, but this time with Hellebuyck on the other side, the Avs would love to see Blackwood’s absolute A-game shine tonight, with the best the world has to offer to duel him. Nobody expects a .948 to be sustainable over a season, but Hellebuyck has sustained his elite marks throughout, and Blackwood’s overall numbers aren’t far off from Hellebuyck’s. A solid performance from Blackwood is a must tonight as the Avs look to make a statement to the rest of the league.
Projected Lines:
Jonathan Drouin (27) — Nathan MacKinnon (29) — Mikko Rantanen (96)
Ross Colton (20) — Casey Mittelstadt (37) — Artturi Lehkonen (62)
Joel Kiviranta (94) — Juuso Parssinen (16) — Logan O’Connor (25)
Tye Felhaber (48) — Parker Kelly (17) — Jere Innala (22)
Devon Toews (7) — Cale Makar (8)
Sam Malinski (70) — Josh Manson (42)
Calvin De Haan (44) — Keaton Middleton (67)
Goaltenders
Mackenzie Blackwood (39)
Trent Miner (50)