Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, ALT2, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Avalanche (2-2-1) will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Friday. They haven't put together consecutive solid games yet, including a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. Losing their captain,
Gabriel Landeskog
, for 12 weeks following knee surgery will be a tough blow; we know how important he is to them. Colorado will need other players to step up besides center Nathan MacKinnon (eight points; two goals, six assists) and forward Mikko Rantanen (nine points; three goals, six assists). Forward Valeri Nichushkin leads the Avalanche with five goals.
The Golden Knights (4-1-0) have started quickly, their only defeat a 3-2 loss at the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. They've been much better defensively, allowing 10 goals in five games under new coach Bruce Cassidy, and goaltending has been great. Logan Thompson has a 2.03 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and one shutout and Adin Hill has a 2.00 GAA and .934 save percentage. And center Jack Eichel looks healthy, with five points (three goals, two assists) in five games.
Carolina Hurricanes at Calgary Flames (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET; CITY, SNE, SNW, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
This will be a game between two Stanley Cup contenders, each coming off their first loss of the season Thursday; the Hurricanes (3-1-0) lost 6-4 at the Edmonton Oilers and the Flames lost 6-3 to the Buffalo Sabres. The addition of Brent Burns makes Carolina's defense even more solid and goalie Frederik Andersen should challenge for the Vezina Trophy, voted as the best goalie in the NHL, if he stays healthy. Forward Andrei Svechnikov had his first NHL hat trick Thursday; he and centers Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas have led the offense thus far. And we know Rod Brind'Amour is a perennial finalist for the Jack Adams Award, voted as NHL coach of the year.
The Flames (3-1-0) lost Tkachuk and forward Johnny Gaudreau during the offseason, but center Nazem Kadri (five points; one goal, four assists) and Huberdeau (four assists) have fit in nicely as newcomers. Goalie Jacob Markstrom was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy last season; can he keep up that level of play? Calgary can take advantage of playing nine of its first 10 games at home, but must be sharp with games against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Oilers during that stretch.
