The Avalanche enter the Second Round coming off a First Round sweep over the Nashville Predators, whereas St. Louis took care of business in Game 6 against the Minnesota Wild in order to advance. This matchup marks the second-straight postseason in which the Avs and Blues have faced one another, with last year's taking place in the First Round and resulting in a sweep by Colorado.
And while the rested and recharged Avs wouldn't be opposed to repeating last year's favorable results, they're expecting this series to be a stingy challenge.
St. Louis' depth is one of the team's strong suits as they boasted a league-high of nine skaters score 20-plus goals during the regular season, where Colorado recorded the second-most with seven. The Blues utilize the mobility of their backend and have a strong goalie tandem of Ville Husso and Jordan Binnington, which evenly split the six games against the Wild. Regarding special teams, St. Louis finished in the top-10 during the regular seasons with the second-highest producing power play at 27.0% and a fifth-ranked penalty kill at 84.1%, both of which have translated to the postseason.
"This is going to be a different style of team [compared to Nashville]," Avs defenseman Josh Manson said. "They're a bit deeper in the attack up front with the skill set. Every d-pairing is probably going to see every line. You're going to have to be ready for all three lines with every d-pairing."
And while the Avalanche swept Nashville in the First Round, the Predators left their mark. Colorado knew it would be a physical test as Nashville had finished the regular season with the most hits (2,470) and continued that physicality into the postseason.
Bednar praised his group for their response to combating Nashville's edge with that of their own. He also noted that it was a good matchup for the group to get engaged right away, especially now as they take on another hefty opponent in St. Louis, who successfully slowed down Minnesota's speed and transition game.
