Alexandar Georgiev will get the night off for the Colorado Avalanche when they take on the Seattle Kraken.
That means Ivan Prosvetov, who has only started one game since joining the Avalanche, will be in net against the Kraken. Part of it has to do with getting him playing time, but Colorado also expects a bit more from their starter.
“(Prosvetov) played really well in his first game for us,” Jared Bednar said after morning skate. “We look at the analytics, talk to Georgie, see how he’s feeling. He’s feeling fine, but I would say in an honest evaluation, his last handful of games weren’t as good as his first handful, right? Still trying to let him work through his game and still give him opportunities to bounce back with it.”
Valeri Nichushkin missed practice yesterday due to the birth of his daughter, but will play tonight for the Avalanche against the Kraken. He didn’t skate this morning, but he was at the rink for meetings. Riley Tufte will also enter the lineup.
With Tufte coming in, someone has to come out of the lineup. Indications from morning skate were that it might be Jonathan Drouin, but Bednar would not confirm who he’s taking out this morning.
I spoke to Bowen Byram today, as his game is starting to elevate after a slower start. Against the Kraken, the Avalanche will need offensive contributions from everyone, including their defense.
“They’re a good defensive team and they pack things in in the D-zone,” Byram said. “Trying to be the fourth guy into the rush as a defenseman, activating on the weak side, and once you’re in the zone, just trying to get pucks to the net for our forwards to get a stick on, or rebound. That’ll be a key for us tonight.”
I’ll have more on Byram in the next day or two.
The Kraken are inserting some younger players into the lineup tonight, including former high draft pick Shane Wright, who will play just his 9th career NHL game. Seattle will be without Jordan Eberle, who suffered a skate blade cut to his leg on Wednesday.
Seattle has turned it around a bit after a slow start, but are still looking for more offense at even strength. Their top two centers, Matty Beniers and Alex Wennberg, have combined for zero goals.
Philipp Grubauer is expected to start in net against his former team.
Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Riley Tufte – Ryan Johansen – Valeri Nichushkin
Miles Wood – Ross Colton – Logan O’Connor
Andrew Cogliano – Fredrik Olofsson – Tomas Tatar
Defense
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Bowen Byram – Sam Girard
Jack Johnson – Josh Manson
Goalies
Ivan Prosvetov
Alexandar Georgiev
Expected Seattle Kraken Lineup
McCann – Beniers – Yamamoto
Schwartz – Wennberg – Kartye
Tovlanen – Gourde – Bjorkstrand
Winterton – Shore – Wright
Defense:
Dunn – Larsson
Oleksiak – Borgen
Dumoulin – Schultz
Goalies:
Philipp Grubauer
Special Teams
Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 18.6%, 16th in NHL
Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 89.1%, 4th in NHL
Seattle Kraken Power Play: 26.3%, 8th in NHL
Seattle Kraken Penalty Kill: 70.3%, 27th in NHL
How to Watch
TV: Altitude TV, ESPN+
Radio: 92.5 Altitude Radio
Game Time: 7:00 PM MST