Colorado Avalanche Game Day: Avs move on to Montreal

The Colorado Avalanche will be playing the second of back to back games in Canada tonight against the Montreal Canadians. The Avs are riding a four-game winning streak after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs by a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night. Captain Gabriel Landeskog and forward Andre Burakovsky will potentially make their return to the lineup.

COLORADO AVALANCHE

The Avs are undoubtedly one of the hottest teams in the NHL despite being without numerous elite players for a considerable amount of time. Colorado still holds second place in the Central Division. Head Coach Jared Bednar mentioned that the lineup would likely see the return of Captain Gabriel Landeskog and forward Andre Burakovsky for tonight’s game in an interview before the win over Toronto. Their arrival would only bolster an already thriving squad.

Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen hasn’t skipped a beat since his return to the lineup, scoring a goal and four assists in his first two games back. He and Nathan MacKinnon are back to their old ways, but will we see the return of the “Top Line.”

FORWARDS (PREDICTION)

Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen

Joonas Donskoi - Nazem Kadri - Andre Burakovsky

J.T. Compher - Tyson Jost - Matt Nieto

Matt Calvert - Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare - Valeri Nichushkin

DEFENSE

Ryan Graves - Cale Makar

Samuel Girard - Nikita Zadorov

Ian Cole - Calle Rosen

MONTREAL CANADIANS

The Habs are experiencing some turbulence during their holiday season, only winning two of their last ten games.

All eyes have been on GM Marc Bergevin throughout the Canadien’s struggles. Many fans are calling for him to make a move with their remaining nine million dollars in cap space. Many fans have all but given up hope on the Bergevin.

The Habs have the looks of a young team with some promise. They do, however, seem to be lacking some foundational pieces.

FORWARDS

Tomas Tatar - Phillip Danault - Brendan Gallagher

Nick Cousins - Max Domi - Nick Suzuki

Artturi Lehkonen- Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Joel Armia

Matthew Peca - Nate Thompson - Jordan Weal

DEFENDERS

Ben Chiarot - Shea Weber

Brett Kulak - Jeff Petry

Gustav Olofsson - Cale Fleury

GOALTENDING

The Avalanche will likely start back up goalie Pavel Francouz, seeing as Grubby had a thirty-eight save win just last night in Toronto. Franky has been a solid back up this year sporting a record of 5-2 with a GAA of 2.48 and a SV% of .924.

According to Elliot Freedman, Canadiens keeper Cayden Primeau was the first goalie off the ice in this mornings skate. This indicates he will be making his NHL debut against the west’s highest scoring club in the Colorado Avalanche.