Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers (4:00 p.m.)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
It’s a Colorado Avalanche gameday! While there have been a lot of candidates for the most disappointing Colorado Avalanche loss of the season, like dropping games to basement dwellers Chicago and Anaheim, the 5-0 Stanley Cup Final rematch blowout in their last game may top the list. Colorado is far from being a true Stanley Cup contender if that indicates how the rest of the season will play out. The offense has been genuinely bad most of the year, as it currently sits 29th in the NHL in goals at 5-on-5 and 24th in total goals overall. Suppose the Avs are going to mount a 2nd half-comeback. In that case, the forwards must play better because outside of Mikko Rantanen and Nathan Mackinnon, this hasn’t been a championship-level group of forwards this year.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
The Avs will be without Cale Makar again, as he is still dealing with the effects of the unpenalized cheap shot he took to the head from Jeff Carter against Pittsburgh. Luckily Bowen Byram is starting to get his legs under him after sitting out for an extended period with a lower-body injury, so they will still have a formidable backline. The defense has been good all year, as only six other teams have given up fewer goals than Colorado, and they will need to be at their best against a Florida team that is starting to get hot.
The Avs will likely trot out the same lineup they had against Tampa Bay, with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Jared Bednar has been reluctant to play a consistent 4th line all year, and that trend has continued after the acquisition of Matt Nieto. He has been rolling three lines and then double-shifting an array of forwards to pair with Andrew Cogliano and Logan O’Connor, which has kept the forward groups quite fluid.
Projected Lineup
Valeri Nichushkin — Nathan MacKinnon — Artturi LehknonenMikko Rantanen — J.T. Compher — Evan RodriguesMatt Nieto — Alex Newhook — Denis MalginAndrew Cogliano — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Samuel GirardBowen Byram — Erik JohnsonBrad Hunt — Kurtis MacDermidAndreas Englund
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