Colorado Avalanche Game Day: Second of a back-to-back in New Jersey

The Colorado Avalanche will visit the New Jersey Devils for an interconference battle tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Colorado is finishing the second leg of a back-to-back after defeating the New York Islanders 5-4 in a wild one. The Devils are 5-5 in their last ten games and just beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime this past Sunday.

COLORADO AVALANCHE

The Avalanche still sit high and mighty atop the league and western conference standings. They are well on their way to winning a second straight President’s Trophy in 2022, once again securing home ice throughout the playoffs. Their superiority is unquestionable as we head into the later part of the regular season and playoffs.

Don’t look now, but after getting himself on the board yet again in last night’s win over the Islanders, Nazem Kadri may find himself in the Hart Trophy conversation. Even if he doesn’t get a single vote, he will inevitably obliterate his previous single-season high of sixty-one points scoring at a pace of 1.33 points a game. He is tied for the fifth-most points in the NHL currently.

FORWARDS

Andre Burakovsky - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen

Gabriel Landeskog - Nazem Kadri - Valeri Nichushkin

Alex Newhook - JT Compher - Logan O’Connor

Darren Helm - Tyson Jost - Nicolas Aube-Kubel

DEFENDERS

Devon Toews - Cale Makar

Jack Johnson - Samuel Girard

Ryan Murray - Erik Johnson

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

The Devils are a young and exciting team that looks to turn the corner, having already gone through rebuild mode. Captained by 2017’s first overall draft pick Nico Hischier, the Devils have only been able to snag twenty regulation victories in fifty-six contests. That puts them at twenty-sixth in the league and well out of a playoff spot.

Despite the disappointing record, the Devil’s fandom and the inner circle of that organization are more than likely optimistic. They have a team with budding young talent and plenty of equitable assets that should have a lasting impact on their future success.

FORWARDS

Yegor Sharangovich - Jack Hughes - Dawson Mercer

Tomas Tatar - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt

Pavel Zacha - Jesper Boqvist - Andreas Johnsson

Jimmy Vesey - Michael McLoed - Nathan Bastain

DEFENDERS

Jonas Siegenthaler - Damon Severson

Ryan Graves - Dougie Hamilton

Ty Smith - P.K. Subban

GOALTENDERS

It will be Darcy Kuemper in net for the Colorado Avalanche tonight. After being yanked from his last start in an OT loss to the Calgary Flames, he looks to rebound with a solid performance against the Devils. Up until the loss to Calgary, Darcy looked to have turned the corner and had begun to silence doubters. He has some more work to do before fans stop wondering if Joe Sakic should acquire another netminder before the deadline.

Nico Daws will get the start for New Jersey between the pipes. Tonight’s game will be Nico’s most substantial test as a pro facing the league’s second-highest scoring squad. Daws has allowed twenty goals in his nine appearances and won his last start against the St. Louis Blues, in which he allowed two goals on twenty-one shots faced.