Colorado Avalanche Gameday: Season finale in Carolina
Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images
The Avalanche head to PNC Arena for a rematch with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes are set to finish the regular season series tonight at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. The Avalanche got the best of Carolina just over four nights ago by a score of 4-1. The game featured a controversial collision involving Calvin de Haan and Mikko Rantanen and a subsequent goal from Cale Makar. Makar finished the contest with two tallies that night. How will he fair this evening?
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche are fresh off of a slightly painful defeat at home to division rival St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche did look good in the contest despite what the scoring line suggested. Colorado missed some quality opportunities, and St. Louis capitalized on a couple of friendly bounces. That's bound to happen every once and a while. The good news is the big guns that aren't on the injured list are still producing. Namely, Mikko Rantanen continues to add to his stat sheet night after night.
Still thinking about the way Mikko Rantanen bodied Calvin De Haan to secure puck possession then fought off Jalen Chatfield, drawing a penalty in the process, before dishing a ridiculous backhand pass to Cale Makar. He is a wizard. pic.twitter.com/iCXo3907WV— Avalanche Forever (@citchmook) November 14, 2022
Colorado forward Alex Newhook was noticeably absent in the later stages of their last contest, and following the game, head coach Jared Bednar was clear as to why. It seems that Newhook isn't quite meeting Bednar's standard. That will have to change soon if Newhook actually wants to secure Colorado's 2C vacancy.
I asked Jared Bednar what his conversations with Alex Newhook sound like right now. #Avs pic.twitter.com/fRx0K58SnP— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) November 15, 2022
Projected Lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko RantanenAlex Newhook — Evan Rodriguez — Martin KautAndrew Cogliano — J.T. Compher — Logan O'ConnorDryden Hunt — Jayson Megna — Anton Blidh
Devon Toews — Cale MakarJacob MacDonald — Josh MansonAndreas Englund — Erik Johnson
Note: Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram, Samuel Girard, and Kurtis MacDermid are all listed as "out" for tonight's contest, with Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm still on injured reserve.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are experiencing a bit of an injury bug themselves. You wouldn't tell by their record, but they are without critical pieces in both the forward and defensive groups. They, too, will have to find production via their roster's young depth.
Did Martinook and Drury each get their stick on this?Is this a Double Doink? pic.twitter.com/G4KfPKChLy— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 15, 2022
Carolina has just shut out the Blackhawks in Chicago by way of a 27-save performance from netminder Pyotr Kochetkov who was recently called up from the AHL with Freddie Anderson listed as day-to-day.
27 shots, 27 saves.A night to remember for Pyotr Kochetkov pic.twitter.com/BJYHdx40Ao— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) November 15, 2022
Projected Lineup
Stefan Noesen — Sebastian Aho — Seth JarvisAndrei Svechnikov — Jesperi Kotkaniemi — Martin NecasJordan Martinook — Jordan Staal — Jesper FastJack Drury — Paul Stastny — Derek Stepan
Jacob Slavin — Brent BurnsBrady Skjei — Brett PesceMaxime Lajoie — Jalen Chatfield
Note: Jake Gardiner and Max Pacioretty are both on the injured reserve list, with Ondrej Kase, Frederik Andersen, and Teuvo Teravainen listed as "out" and "day-to-day," respectively.
Goaltending
Two days have passed since the Avalanche last played, confirming that Alexandar Georgiev will get the start for Colorado. Georgiev has been excellent this season, and his .924 SV% is enough to be tied for eight best in the NHL. His 2.70 GAA doesn't quite show just how well he's played and as the Avalanche get healthier, I'd expect that number to diminish.
Antti Raanta will get the nod for the Carolina Hurricanes, with usual starter Frederik Anderson listed as day-to-day. ...
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