The Colorado Avalanche scored twice in the third period to battle back in the game but fell 5-3 to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at Ball Arena. 

Andre Burakovsky netted the Avs first goal after Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn and David Perron had scored for the Blues. Perron added his second of the night to make it 4-1 in the third period.

Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher scored in the final six minutes of the third frame to cut Colorado's deficit to 4-3 before Ryan O'Reilly scored into an empty net.

The Colorado Avalanche will honor the late Pierre Lacroix tonight before the team takes on the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena in a ceremony that members of the organization and fans alike have been looking forward to.

Lacroix, Colorado's former general manager and team president, was the architect of the Avalanche's two Stanley Cup championships, which included the city of Denver's first major sports championship in 1996. He passed away on Dec. 13, 2020.

During Lacroix's time as general manager, the Avs won a league-record nine straight division championships, made six appearances in the Western Conference Final, captured two Presidents' Trophies and strung together the longest-recorded home sellout streak in NHL history at 487 consecutive games.

However, it wasn't just his on-ice achievements that made him a beloved man. The way he treated people created an atmosphere inside the organization where every player, coach, trainer and team employee felt like they mattered and were part of the family.

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said the team's lineup for tonight's game against the St. Louis Blues will be a "blender" of combinations.

Valeri Nichushkin will miss his first game of the year as he is week-to-week with an upper-body injury that he sustained during Wednesday's season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Nathan MacKinnon remains in COVID protocol, and the team announced Saturday morning that defenseman Jack Johnson is also in protocol.

The Colorado Avalanche continues the start of the 2021-22 regular season on Saturday at home against the St. Louis Blues.

The Avalanche and Blues last played in Round 1 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs when Colorado earned a 4-0 series win. Both teams competed in the West Division last season and they remain division opponents this year with both clubs moving back to the Central Division.

Saturday's matchup will be the first of two meetings between the squads this month, with the Avalanche traveling to St. Louis on Oct. 28. From there, they won't meet again until Apr. 26, the final week of the campaign when they finish their three-game, regular-season series in Denver.

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was back at practice Friday morning, as he is out of COVID protocol and ready to go ahead of the team's game against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

"I feel great", said Bednar. "I had a couple days of not feeling so hot, but probably the last five, six days I have been good. Just getting tested, tried to get a couple negatives see if I could get back early, wasn't the case so today was my 10th."

The squad had a full team practice, however, some integral players on the Avalanche roster were missing.

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--The Colorado Avalanche took the ice for an optional practice on Thursday at Family Sports Center following its season opening 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

Forwards Alex Newhook, Logan O'Connor and Sampo Ranta along with defensemen Bowen Byram, Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Kurtis MacDermid were amongst those on the squad to lace up Thursday morning. Toews was in a red, non-contact jersey for the session.

The 2021-22 season began with a few memorable moments for rookie defenseman Bowen Byram.

The 20-year-old played in front of a sell-out crowd in an NHL building for the first time, skated in his first opening night and netted his first NHL goal in the process. 

"Really excited. Obviously, it's something you dream about for a long time and also nice to get out of the way, get the pressure off," said Byram. "I think it was a fun game and we did a pretty good job out there."

Byram made his NHL debut on Jan. 21, 2021, at the Los Angeles Kings, but was limited to just 19 games due to separate injuries in 2020-21.  

The Colorado Avalanche had four different goal scorers to open the 2021-22 season with a 4-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena on Wednesday Night. 

Bowen Byram, Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist in the outing with Byram netting his first NHL goal and first multi-point game in the league. 

Defenseman Jack Johnson scored the first goal of the game, his first marker with the Avalanche after he signed a one-year deal with the club on Sunday. 

Dominik Kubalik and Connor Murphy scored for the Blackhawks while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves in his first game with Chicago. 

The Colorado Avalanche is launching its inaugural non-fungible token (NFT), which will pay homage to the 2020-21 Presidents' Trophy banner being debuted in the rafters of Ball Arena in Denver on October 13th. The auction will run from October 13th at 8:15 p.m. MT through Friday, October 15th at 8 p.m. MT. 

The 2021-22 season is here for the Colorado Avalanche and this campaign brings a new opponent, a return to the Central Division and more fans in the stands. All aspects of the game that the Avs are looking forward to.

To begin the new year, Colorado faces a familiar foe in the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena tonight.

"Ready to rock. It's an exciting day," said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. "For whatever reason, this training camp has felt long. I think that's probably because the last one last year in January was just like six days to get going, get moving and then right into games, so it's felt a little long, but we are excited for tonight."