Youthful Success For Avs And Jackets

Being a young team is no longer a disadvantage for having success in today's NHL, and the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets are evidence of that.
Two of the youngest clubs in the league square off tonight at Pepsi Center, as the Avalanche looks to extend its winning streak to four when it hosts the Blue Jackets in the fifth of a season-long, six-game homestand.

Columbus is the NHL's second youngest team, with a roster that averages exactly 25 years old, while Colorado is third with a median age of 25.6. The Blue Jackets have been building a competitive team for the past couple seasons, and they took a major step toward doing that last year by posting 108 points and earning the franchise's third-ever playoff berth.
The Eastern Conference team is once again in a position to repeat and possibly better that success this year. The Jackets are presently third in the tough Metropolitan Division with a 23-15-3 record and 49 points, four behind division-leader Washington.
The Avs have been on a nice little roll recently, going 8-3-1 in their last 12 outings and their current three-game win streak is tied for a season high. Colorado is just three points out of a wild-card spot with 43 points and a 20-16-3 overall mark after 39 contests.
"I think we're just playing well and we're getting rewarded on how we're playing, how we're handling the process," Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said of the team's recent success. "You just don't get lucky in this league. You have to earn it. We've done a good job of that."
Columbus might be a bit ahead of where Colorado is in building a championship contender year in and year out, but there are several similarities between the two squads, especially on the backend.
"They have a strong 200-foot commitment, that is what we're trying to build here," said Avs head coach Jared Bednar. "They have some talented guys that get their D involved in their offense. It's a big part of their offense, especially (Seth) Jones and (Zach) Werenski. That helps them out up front. They want to get all five guys involved in their attack, and it's a way to create offense nowadays. We're trying to do that, we're improving in that area."

The Avalanche has its own young defensemen that can match Jones and Werenski in offensive-minded rookie Samuel Girard and solid all-around D-man Erik Johnson. Both clubs also have a core rear guard currently out of the lineup, with Colorado's Tyson Barrie and Columbus' Ryan Murray both out with injuries.
That still doesn't make the challenge any less difficult in slowing down the Blue Jackets' attack from the defensive zone.
"They're all skilled and help move the puck," MacKinnon said of Columbus' blueliners. "I think sometimes the best defense is offense, and they seem to create a ton of that so it is definitely tough to defend against."

MacKinnon and Jones have been connected by being highly-touted prospects when they entered the 2013 NHL Draft and having success in their first few seasons in the league. MacKinnon went first overall to Colorado, while Jones was picked fourth by the Nashville Predators and began his career in Tennessee before being traded to Columbus in January 2016.
Jones has flourished in his new home and recorded a career-high 42 points (12 goals and 30 assists) last season. He is on pace to surpass those numbers this year with seven goals and 24 points after 41 games.
"He's a really good defenseman and turning out to be one of the backbones of their team," MacKinnon said of Jones. "Obviously, he got traded a couple years ago, but he's been unbelievable since then."

MacKinnon, the winner of the 2014 Calder Trophy as the league's most outstanding rookie, is on pace for his own breakout campaign this year. He is fifth in the NHL with 48 points after 39 games, and no player has found the scoresheet more since Nov. 1. MacKinnon has 14 goals and 26 assists in the last 28 games.
"I'm focused on my process," MacKinnon said. "Points will be there if I trust my game. I'm not too worried about it, honestly. I'm not going to stress over it or hope for anything. I'm just going to try and play my game."
The Avs forward's early success has been one of the highlights to the club's first half of the season, and he continues to find his rhythm with his teammates on the ice. MacKinnon registered his third straight, multi-point outing in the last contest versus the Jets (goal and an assist) and now has 15 on the season, tying the career high he set during his rookie campaign in 2013-14.

NO LINEUP CHANGES

The Avs will use the same lineup as they did in Tuesday's overtime victory against the Winnipeg Jets, with defenseman Andrei Mironov being the lone health scratch.
The only difference will be in goal, where Jonathan Bernier will get the start after Semyon Varlamov suffered a minor lower-body injury in the second period versus Winnipeg.
Varlamov's injury was the team's fourth in the last five games, but almost all of the Avs' recent hurt players are expected to be back in action following bye week on Jan. 13 at the Dallas Stars, if not sooner. Sven Andrighetto (lower body), J.T. Compher (upper body) and Semyon Varlamov (lower body) are all listed as day-to-day, while defenseman Tyson Barrie is the lone exception with him set to miss four-to-six weeks with a fracture in his hand.
Goaltender Andrew Hammond was recalled from the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League on Wednesday and will backup Bernier, who will play in his third consecutive contest this evening.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
A.J. Greer - Alexander Kerfoot - Nail Yakupov
Blake Comeau - Carl Soderberg - Matt Nieto
Gabriel Bourque - Tyson Jost - Colin Wilson
Nikita Zadorov - Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth - Mark Barberio
Samuel Girard - Anton Lindholm
Jonathan Bernier
Andrew Hammond