Colorado Begins Road Trip in St. Louis

The Colorado Avalanche returns to game action by taking on the St. Louis Blues on Thursday at Enterprise Center in the first contest of a three-game set between the clubs. It is also the beginning of a four-game road trip for Colorado and the team's first game in eight days.
In the Avs' last contest on April 14, the team earned its fourth straight victory with a 4-3 win at the Blues, improving to 30-9-4 on the season and 12-5-2 on the road. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk got his first start in between the pipes in an Avalanche sweater and subsequently collected his first victory for the club, stopping 31-of-34 shots. Liam O'Brien registered his first career multi-point game with two assists, while Mikko Rantanen (one goal, one assist) and J.T Compher (one goal, one assist) each put together two-point efforts as well. Nathan MacKinnon finished with an assist to extend his point streak to a league-long 11 games and assist streak to six matchups. Brandon Saad notched a goal for the second consecutive game and tallied his first game-winning marker of the campaign.

St. Louis (19-18-6) fell 3-2 to the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday after giving up an early 2-0 lead. Tyler Bozak tallied to lengthen his point streak to a season-long four games and David Perron recorded an assist for the fifth straight outing. Sammy Blais also found the back of the net, while netminder Jordan Binnington made 26 saves.
Friday's game is the sixth meeting between the clubs this season and the second of four matchups at Enterprise Center. The clubs will finish their season series on Saturday and Monday in St. Louis.

Avalanche at St. Louis Blues

Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.
| Game Time: | 6:00 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude (blackouts apply), Bally Sports-Midwest (STL) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-ST. LOUIS CONNECTIONS

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson was drafted No. 1 overall by St. Louis and played for Blues from 2007-2011… Avs assistant coach Ray Bennett spent 10 seasons on the Blues' coaching staff (2007-2017)… Jared Bednar was the head coach of St. Louis' then-American Hockey League affiliate in Peoria for two seasons (2010-2012)... Blues center Ryan O'Reilly was the Avs' second-round selection (No. 33 overall) in 2009 and began his career in Colorado… St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz played two seasons at Colorado College (2010-2012) and teammate Tyler Bozak skated at the University of Denver for two years (2007-2009)… Blues assistant coach Jim Montgomery spent five seasons as the University of Denver head coach (2013-2018).

HISTORY

The Avalanche owns an all-time record of 67-64-18 against the Blues in franchise history, with a 6-3-1 mark in the last 10 times the clubs have met. This season, Colorado sports a 4-1-0 record as the squad has won four consecutive contests.
Nathan MacKinnon's seven points (four goals, three assists) leads the Avs in scoring versus St. Louis this campaign, while Cale Makar's six points (one goal, five assists) and Gabriel Landeskog's five points (two goals, three assists) rank second and third on the roster, respectively. MacKinnon and Makar have each registered at least a point in four straight meetings against the Blues, while goalie Philipp Grubauer has won two straight starts and holds a 2-1-0 record, .938 save percentage, 1.68 goals-against average and one shutout.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado held its first practice on Wednesday since going on its league-mandated break due to COVID-19 on April 16. Logan O'Connor (lower body) participated in a full-contact jersey and will make the trip with the club but it is unknown when he will be available to play, according to head coach Jared Bednar. Patrik Nemeth will suit up in his first contest on Thursday since being acquired by the Avalanche in a trade on April 9. Netminder Devan Dubnyk is expected to get his second straight start in between the pipes.

INJURY UPDATE

Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi joined Philipp Grubauer on the NHL's COVID-19-protocol list over the past week. Rantanen was put on the list due to contact tracing, so the forward could be available later on the road trip, according to Bednar. Bowen Byram was removed from the COVID-19 protocol list on Monday but will not make the trip in order to receive more conditioning time; he worked out on his own on Wednesday. Matt Calvert is out week-to-week with an upper body injury. Pavel Francouz is out for the remainder of the season with a lower-body injury and Erik Johnson (upper body) could return later in the playoffs.

SCOUTING THE BLUES

After going on a three-game win streak from April 7-10, the Blues have lost two straight contests and sit one point out of the last playoff spot in the West Division with 44 points (19-18-6), trailing the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes (45 points) but do own four games in hand. The club is still searching for its home-ice advantage as it owns a 7-10-4 record, the fourth-fewest wins in the league at home this year, but has won three out of its last five at Enterprise Center--outscoring its opponents 19-14 over the stretch.
David Perron leads the current Blues roster with 13 goals and 16 assists in 34 career games versus Colorado, while Vladimir Tarasenko (12 goals, 15 assists) and Jaden Schwartz (nine goals, 13 assists) are second and third, respectively, on the current squad. Perron has notched at least a point in three straight matchups against the Avs, tallying one goal and three assists in that span.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: MIKE HOFFMAN

Mike Hoffman is in his first campaign with St. Louis after being a part of the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators organizations previously in his 10-year career. Hoffman has not skipped a beat with his new club, as he has registered 13 goals and 14 assists in 39 games this season, ranking tied for second in goals, fourth in points (27 points) and sixth in assists. The forward has also been a weapon on the power play, collecting the second-most points (nine) and goals (three, tied) on the man advantage this season.
The veteran is currently on a three-game point streak and has tallied two goals in two of the three contests, including a three-point night (two goals, one assist) versus the Avalanche on April 14. Hoffman is tied for the team lead in scoring against Colorado, notching three goals and one assist in four contests along with two points (one goal, one assist) on the power play. All time versus the Avs, the Kitchener, Ontario, native has averaged over a point per game (1.06) and compiled eight goals and nine assists in 16 meetings with the squad.

NUMBERS GAME

4

The Avalanche embarks on its fourth four-game road trip of the season when visiting the Blues on Thursday. The team owns an 8-4-0 mark in such sets this season, going 2-2-0 on the first trip (Jan. 19-24), 3-1-0 on the second (Feb. 26-March 3) and 3-1-0 during the third (April 5-11).

7+2

Gabriel Landeskog has notched seven game-winning goals this season and two of those tallies have come in overtime. Landeskog is tied for the third-most game-winners in the league and ranks third in markers in the extra frame.

38x161

Colorado has tallied 38 goals on the man advantage this season in 161 opportunities. The club leads the NHL in both power-play goals for (tied) and man-advantage chances, while ranking seventh in power-play percentage--converting on 23.9 percent of its opportunities.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche has won three consecutive contests on the road and four of its last five, owning a 12-5-2 record away from home… Colorado has scored the third-most goals this season (154) and the fourth-most markers at even strength (101)… Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avs with 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) on the man advantage and ranks tied for fifth in the league… J.T. Compher is one tally away from his 50th career goal… The Avs have given up the fewest goals in the NHL this season (tied), allowing just 100 markers on the campaign. The club has also allowed the fewest shots against per game in the league (25.6)… Colorado will finish its season playing nine of its last 13 contests on the road.