It will be a Central Division showdown on Saturday night, as the Colorado Avalanche head to Dallas to take on the division-leading Stars.
For Colorado’s sake, they have to hope it goes better than their last two Saturday games. The less said about those games, the better.
The Avalanche know they’ll have to be on top of their game to play with the Stars, who have won four straight.
“Great team,” Ryan Johansen said on Friday. “(They’ve) been a great team for a long time. Same core of players that have been together for a while, so this is a game we love to play.”
Johansen is looking forward to seeing his old Nashville linemate Matt Duchene, but they weren’t able to get together Friday night due to the Stars forward already having plans.
“It’ll be fun to compete against him and battle. Maybe a little trash going, so look forward to seeing him,” Johansen said.
There are quite a few former Stars players on the Avalanche, including their entire fourth line. That fourth line is coming off a fantastic game in which all three of them chipped in with a goal. Joel Kiviranta added two assists for his second career three point game. I don’t think I need to remind anyone of his other three points game…
Expect Alexandar Georgiev in net for the Avalanche against the Stars. Josh Manson was present at morning skate in a regular jersey, but I wouldn’t anticipate he plays. Caleb Jones took either a puck or a stick to his face on Friday at practice, resulting in a nasty looking cut, but he should be okay to play again if Manson can’t go.
The Stars currently lead the Central with 23 points. What makes them such a difficult team to play against is their depth up front. They currently have eight skaters with at least 10 points on the season, and are led by Joe Pavelski’s 14 points. The 39 year old forward shows no signs of slowing down, and is seemingly a guarantee to score against Colorado every single game.
Jake Oettinger, one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, will be in net for the Stars against the Avalanche.
Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines
Valeri Nichushkin – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Tomas Tatar – Ryan Johansen – Jonathan Drouin
Miles Wood – Ross Colton – Logan O’Connor
Andrew Cogliano – Fredrik Olofsson – Joel Kiviranta
Defense
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Bowen Byram – Sam Girard
Jack Johnson – Caleb Jones
Goalies
Alexandar Georgiev
Ivan Prosvetov
Expected Dallas Stars Lineup
Robertson – Hintz – Pavelski
Benn – Johnston – Dadonov
Marchment – Duchene – Seguin
Steel – Faksa – Smith
Defense:
Suter – Heiskanen
Lindell – Hakanpaa
Handley – Lundkvist
Goalies:
Jake Oettinger
Special Teams
Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 18.6%, 20th in NHL
Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 86.7%, 7th in NHL
Dallas Stars Power Play: 20.4%, 16th in NHL
Dallas Stars Penalty Kill: 90.2%, 2nd in NHL
How to Watch
TV: Altitude TV, ESPN+
Radio: 92.5 Altitude Radio
Game Time: 6:00 PM MST