Avalanche Set to Open 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs Against Blues

The Colorado Avalanche begins its Stanley Cup Playoffs journey on Monday when hosting the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of the first round series between the clubs. The Avalanche is coming off a 5-0-0 stretch to end the regular season, finishing it off with a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday to win the Presidents' Trophy and earn home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
After the Kings scored the game's first goal, Colorado stormed back with five unanswered goals behind Tyson Jost's two second-period tallies. Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist), Mikko Rantanen (two assists) and Conor Timmins (two assists) all put together multi-point efforts, while netminder Jonas Johansson stopped 21-of-22 shots.
St. Louis rounded out the regular season on a high note as well, winning its third straight game by coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Minnesota Wild 7-3 on Thursday as 15 different players notched at least a point. David Perron registered two goals and an assist, with Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou also finding the back of the net twice each. Mike Hoffman added three assists and goaltender Jordan Binnington made 17 saves.

The Avs and Blues will face off at Ball Arena for Game 1 on Monday and Game 2 on Wednesday before the series shifts to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday. It is the second time the clubs have met in the postseason as Colorado defeated St. Louis in five games during the 2001 Western Conference Final.

Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues

Ball Arena | Denver, Colo.
| Game Time: | 8:00 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, NBCSN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, Bally Sports-Midwest (STL) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, 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… Colorado forward Carl Soderberg was drafted in the second round by the Blues in 2004… 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

Colorado and St. Louis will square off in a postseason series for the first time since 2000-01, when the clubs met in the Western Conference Final. The Avalanche defeated the Blues in five games behind Joe Sakic's eight points (four goals, four assists) and Milan Hejduk's seven points (three goals, four assists). The squads have gone to battle in just one other postseason tilt, when the Avs earned a 2-1 win in the first contest of the round robin in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers last year. Nazem Kadri tallied the game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in the final frame.
In the regular season, the teams met eight times this year and Colorado held a 5-3-0 record and 3-1-0 mark at Ball Arena. The Avs fell in the first contest of the season to the Blues 4-1 on Jan. 13, but proceeded to win five straight matchups, including an 8-0 rout on Jan. 15. Despite winning the season series, the Avalanche dropped its final two meetings with the Blues from April 24-26 to close out the eight-game set. Nathan MacKinnon was the leading scorer for Colorado versus the Blues on the campaign, recording 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in eight games--tied for his most against a single opponent this season--while Cale Makar ranked second on the club with two goals and eight assists.
All time, the Avs hold a 68-66-18 mark against the Blues to go along with a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 on home ice.

ROSTER REPORT

Colorado is likely to have some key players return just in time for Game 1 on Monday. The club held a full-team practice on Sunday and Nathan MacKinnon, Brandon Saad, and Conor Timmins were all participants. Head coach Jared Bednar said that he expects MacKinnon and Saad to ready for the opening game, while Timmins (lower body) is a possibility to play after missing the final period of the final game of the regular season. Bowen Byram (upper body) was also a full participant on Sunday but still needs some time to get back to game shape.

INJURY UPDATE

• Bowen Byram (upper body): Last played on March 25 and is participating in team skates
• Matt Calvert (upper body): Out long term
• Devan Dubnyk (COVID protocol): Was placed in protocol on May 3
• Pavel Francouz (lower body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year
• Erik Johnson (upper body): Could return late in the postseason
• Nathan MacKinnon (lower body): Expected to return to the lineup on Monday
• Logan O'Connor (lower body): Out long-term after requiring surgery
• Brandon Saad (lower body): Expected to return to the lineup on Monday

SCOUTING THE BLUES

The Blues concluded the regular season with a 27-20-9 record (63 points) to secure the fourth spot in the West Division and their third consecutive postseason berth. The 2019 Stanley Cup Champions finished the 2020-21 campaign strong, going 8-1-3 over the last 12 games and 3-1-2 on the road in that span. The club boasted the sixth-best man-advantage unit in the campaign, converting on 23.2 percent of its opportunities, and improved its conversion rate on the power play to 24.6 percent away from home, the third best in the NHL. On the other hand, the Blues owned the 20th (tied) ranked penalty kill in the league in the 56-game season despite giving up just one marker over its last 10 contests (20-for-21).
When facing the Avs, Ryan O'Reilly (four goals, three assists) and David Perron (two goals, five assists) led the way offensively for the Blues with seven points apiece, while Mike Hoffman ranked third on the roster with four goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Jordan Binnington held a 3-4-0 mark, 2.89 goals-against average and .909 save percentage versus Colorado, while rounding out the regular-season with two straight victories.

(AVS) PLAYER TO WATCH: NATHAN MACKINNON

Nathan MacKinnon posted nine goals and 16 assists in 15 contests during last year's postseason. He registered at least a point in the first 14 games of the 2020 playoffs, recording the longest playoff point streak in franchise history and tying Mark Messier (1988) and Bobby Orr (1970) for the second-longest streak to begin a postseason in NHL history. The forward ranked fourth in the league with 25 points and sixth in both goals (tied) and assists.
Despite missing eight games throughout the regular season, the Halifax, Nova Scotia, native produced 20 goals and 45 assists in 48 contests. MacKinnon finished first on the Avs in assists and slotted in at second in points (65) and goals (tied). As well, the 25-year-old led the club with 25 man-advantage points (eight goals, 17 assists), while slotting at eighth in the league in points and fifth in assists.

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: RYAN O'REILLY

Ryan O'Reilly is heading in to the first round series with 48 games of playoff experience under his belt. The St. Louis captain led the club to its first Stanley Cup championship in 2019 and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. The forward has tallied 12 goals and 22 assists in 35 postseason outings with the Blues.
This season, O'Reilly was a key contributor on the offensive end, registering 24 goals and 30 assists in 56 games. He led the team in goals, ranked second in points (54) and assists (tied), while finishing fourth in power-play points (12). The veteran concluded the regular season on a three-game point streak and found the scoresheet in eight of his last nine, tallying four goals and five assists over the stretch.

NUMBERS GAME

10+3

Colorado enters the 2021 postseason after earning its 10th division championship and third Presidents' Trophy since moving to Denver in 1995-96. The last time the club won the Presidents' Trophy was in 2000-01--when the club hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time--and the last time it won its division was in 2013-14.

30

Mikko Rantanen concluded the regular season with the highest plus-minus rating in the league, finishing with a plus-30 rating on the year. It is the second year in a row that an Avalanche player led the league in the category as Ryan Graves was the leader in 2019-20 at plus-40.

.821

The Avs will look to continue its success on home ice in Game 1, as the squad rounded out the regular season with a .821-points percentage on home ice with a record of 22-4-2. Colorado's .821-points percentage is their best home points percentage since the club moved to Denver, eclipsing the 2000-01 team (.768).

7,750

For Game 1, the Avalanche will be able to host 7,750 fans for the first time this year, an increase from the 4,050 fans that have been in attendance at Ball Arena since April 2. The 7,750 members of Avs faithful will make up 42.3% of the overall venue capacity.

NOTEBOOK

The Avs are headed to the postseason for the fourth straight year, the third-longest run in franchise history. Quebec/Colorado made 11 straight trips to the playoffs from 1995 to 2006 and the Nordiques made seven straight from 1981 to 1987… This is the 26th postseason appearance in franchise history and 17th since moving to Denver… The Avalanche is 11-5 in the first round since 1995-96, while sporting a 12-4 mark in Game 1 of such series… Colorado enters the postseason going 8-1-0 in its last nine games, 18-5-0 in its last 23, 26-5-2 in its last 33 and 30-7-3 in its last 40… The Avs' 22 wins on home ice this season are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the most in the NHL. The team concluded the regular season on a nine-game winning streak at Ball Arena and a 17-game home point streak (16-0-1), tying the franchise record for the longest streak on home ice… Cale Makar wrapped up the regular season with 44 points (8 goals, 36 assists) in 44 games, joining Steve Duchesne (82 points in 82 games with Quebec in 1992-93) as the only blueliners in franchise history to average a point-per-game. He's was the only blueliner in the NHL to average a point-per-game this season… Mikko Rantanen (30 goals, 36 assists), Nathan MacKinnon (20 goals, 45 assists) and Gabriel Landeskog (20 goals, 32 assists) were the leading scorers on Colorado this season, while nine different skaters tucked 10 or more goals, which is tied with the Washington Capitals for the most in the League… Colorado outscored St. Louis 26-21 in the eight-game regular-season series, with a 34.2 power-play conversion rate and 79.3 penalty-kill percentage.