Avs Look to Another Busy Month After Successful March

After finishing its busiest and best month in franchise history, the Colorado Avalanche now opens its busiest April ever tonight against an opponent it will face six times this month, the St. Louis Blues.
"Really busy month, but we spent a lot of time at home which was nice. We didn't have to travel, got some good rest days, put in some good work this month and we got the results that we wanted," said head coach Jared Bednar. "I think you are looking at that month before it happens, and you got to make hay while the sun shines. You are at home and you're healthy, and I thought we did that. So we took care of what we had to for the month of March.
"Now we got another busy April coming up and we are going to spend a lot of it on the road, so continuing to make the most of these home games I think is real important. We got a big set coming up here against St. Louis."

Tonight's outing against the Blues is the first meeting between Colorado and St. Louis since the opening two games of the season on Jan. 13-15. Three of the outings in the eight-game season series had to be moved due to COVID-19 protocols, and the teams will now meet six times in 23 days this month, two more than the originally-scheduled four outings.
The clubs split the first two matchups of the year, with the Blues earning a 4-1 win in the season opener on Jan. 13 before the Avs responded with an 8-0 shutout victory on Jan. 15.
"We know it's always fun to play against St. Louis, there is kind of a rivalry because we've played in the same division so many years, so we've seen them a lot," said forward Mikko Rantanen. "Six times in this month is a lot, so of course we are ready for it and it's going to be fun."
St. Louis hasn't played since Sunday, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks, and is in fourth place in the West Division with 38 points (16-13-6). The Blues have lost each of their last four games, going 0-3-1 in the stretch, while the Avs have collected at least a point in each of their last 12 games (10-0-2).
Colorado's 12-game point streak equals the longest run in the NHL this season (New York Islanders, Feb. 22-March 14) and marks the first time the Avalanche has gone 12 games without a regulation loss since Feb. 27-March 25, 2007 (10-0-2).
The Avs finished March with a 12-2-3 record after competing in 17 games in 31 days, setting franchise records for wins (12) and points (27) in a month. They also are 9-0-1 in their last 10 outings at Ball Arena and are 15-4-2 overall as the home team this year, the second most wins (15) and points (32) in the NHL.
"I think we were real solid the whole month, we didn't have many off games, I don't think any at all," Rantanen reflected on March. "We played really good, every guy was chipping in hard, and we had the right mentality in every game. I think we just need to keep that going right away, start the new month the right way."
The Avs are set to play 16 games in April with 10 of those outings coming on the road, including four in St. Louis.

LINEUP NOTES & INJURY UPDATES

Colorado will make a few changes to its lineup tonight with forward Liam O'Brien making his Avalanche debut and goaltender Jonas Johansson getting the start in the crease.
It will be Johansson's second start with the Avs after making 28 saves, including three in overtime, in a 5-4 shootout loss at the Arizona Coyotes on March 23. He will be backed up by Philipp Grubauer, who did not participate in today's morning practice in order to get some more rest.
"I think Johansson**

NOTEWORTHY

March was Colorado's 12th consecutive "winning" month going back to February 2019, extending its franchise record. The previous mark was 10 straight winning months from March 2000 to October 2001.
The Avalanche has had a point streak of 13 or more games two times: 2000-01 (16) and 2002-03 (14).
The Avs are 9-0-1 in their last 10 at Ball Arena, their longest home point streak since winning 10 straight from Dec. 29, 2017-Feb. 14, 2018. The last time Colorado went 11 straight home games with a point was in 2002-03 (17).
The Avalanche leads the NHL in goals for per game (3.63) and goals against per game (2.26). The team also leads the league in goal differential at plus-47.
Nine different Colorado skaters have at least 20 points (most in NHL) and six have 10 or more goals (tied for first).
The Avs have outscored their opponents 41-15 in their last eight games and 55-20 in the last 11.
Mikko Rantanen led the league in both points (25) and goals (13) in March, while Gabriel Landeskog finished second in points (24).

INTERVIEWS