Avs and Blues First-Round Series Shifts to St. Louis for Game 3

After earning a victory in Game 1, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-3 at Ball Arena on Wednesday in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. The set now shifts to St. Louis for the third contest of the best-of-seven set on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Nathan MacKinnon registered his first career postseason hat trick and added an assist, while Joonas Donskoi notched three points (two goals, one assist) in the contest. Mike Hoffman, Brayden Schenn and Sammy Blais all found the back of the net for the Blues, with Torey Krug (two assists) recording a multi-point effort.

Avalanche netminder Philipp Grubauer stopped 32-of-35 shots on the night, while goaltender Jordan Binnington made 29-of-33 saves for the Blues.
The Avalanche will be in enemy territory for the next two outings, as Games 3 and 4 set to be played at Enterprise Center on Friday and Sunday. If needed, the series will return to the Mile High City for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Avalanche at St. Louis Blues

Enterprise Center | St. Louis, Mo.
| Game Time: | 7:30 p.m. MT | | --- | --- | | TV: | Altitude, USA Network, Sportsnet 360, TVA Sports 2, Bally Sports-Midwest (STL) | | Radio: | Altitude Sports Radio, FM 92.5 (KKSE) | | Live Streams: | NHL.tv, AltitudeNow.com, Official app (blackouts apply to all) | | Online Audio: | Listen Live Here | | Follow: | @Avalanche, Official app, Gamecenter |

COLORADO-ST. LOUIS CONNECTIONS

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson was drafted No. 1 overall by St. Louis and played for the Blues from 2007-2011… Colorado forward Carl Soderberg was drafted in the second round by the Blues in 2004… Avs assistant coach Ray Bennett spent 10 seasons on the Blues' coaching staff (2007-2017)… Jared Bednar was the head coach of St. Louis' then-American Hockey League affiliate in Peoria for two seasons (2010-2012)... Blues center Ryan O'Reilly was the Avs' second-round selection (No. 33 overall) in 2009 and began his career in Colorado… St. Louis forward Jaden Schwartz played two seasons at Colorado College (2010-2012) and teammate Tyler Bozak skated at the University of Denver for two years (2007-2009)… Blues assistant coach Jim Montgomery spent five seasons as the University of Denver head coach (2013-2018).

HISTORY

Colorado sports a 2-0 series lead against the Blues for the second time in franchise history, with the only other time coming during the 2001 Western Conference Final. The Avs defeated St. Louis in Game 1, as Gabriel Landeskog (two goals, one assist) and Nathan MacKinnon (one goal, two assists) each had three-point nights. On Wednesday, five different Colorado players registered multiple points in route to a 6-3 victory in Game 2 and Brandon Saad recorded an empty-net goal for his first point in the postseason.
The Avalanche has earned five straight wins versus the Blues in the playoffs--dating back to Game 4 of the 2001 Western Conference Finals--and boast a 7-1 mark all time. The club has outscored St. Louis 10-4 and owns an 85-58 advantage in shots.

ROSTER REPORT

The Avs used the same lineup in Game 2 as they did in the first matchup of the series. Head coach Jared Bednar said on Thursday that Carl Soderberg will likely be inserted into the lineup for Game 3 after Nazem Kadri was offered an in-person hearing via Zoom with the department of player safety for an illegal check to the head in the second game of the series.

INJURY UPDATE

• Matt Calvert (upper body): Out long term
• Pavel Francouz (lower body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year
• Erik Johnson (upper body): Could return late in the postseason
• Logan O'Connor (lower body): Out long term after requiring surgery

SCOUTING THE BLUES

St. Louis took 35 shots in Game 2, 12 more than the club registered in the first outing. The Blues also held the Avs to 35 shots, 15 fewer than they gave up in Game 1. The squad tallied its first power-play goal of the series in Game 2, improving its man-advantage percentage to 25.0 percent on the series (1-for-4). On the other hand, St. Louis has given up at least one power-play marker in each of the first two matchups, killing off just two of its five penalties (40.0 percent) so far, ranking 13th on the penalty kill in the postseason.
On home ice, the Blues sport a 108-90 all-time record in the playoffs, despite going 3-7 in their last 10 as the home team. Torey Krug (two assists) and Robert Thomas (two assists) have led St. Louis offensively through the first two matchups.

(AVS) PLAYER TO WATCH: CALE MAKAR

Cale Makar has been strong to begin the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, picking up a goal and an assist through the first two contests of the first-round series. His two points are tied for first on Colorado's blue line (Devon Toews) and rank sixth in the league by a defenseman (tied). The 22-year-old has collected at least a point in seven of his last eight playoffs games--dating back to Game 2 of Round 2 in 2020--and has compiled three goals and seven assists over the stretch.
Makar has registered six goals and 17 assists in 27 postseason matchups, the fourth most among D-men in Colorado playoff history (since 1995-96).

(OPPOSING) PLAYER TO WATCH: MIKE HOFFMAN

Mike Hoffman tallied his first goal of the postseason in Game 2, firing a wrist shot under the blocker side of Philipp Grubauer to bring the game to within one in the third. Hoffman has recorded six shots on goal in the first two contests of the series, tied for third on the Blues' roster. The Kitchener, Ontario, native is tied for the highest time on ice on the man advantage for St. Louis, skating in a total of 6:05 in two games.
Hoffman is in his fourth NHL playoff run, tallying 11 goals and nine assists in 31 postseason bouts with the Blues, Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers.

NUMBERS GAME

3

Nathan MacKinnon is the third player in franchise history to reach 60 career postseason points in less than 50 games, joining Peter Stastny (40 games) and Joe Sakic (41 games). MacKinnon accomplished the feat in just 42 contests, tied for the fifth-fastest player to register 60 points in the playoffs in NHL history.

16

The Avalanche's top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog has combined for a total of 16 points in Games 1 and 2. MacKinnon (five goals, two assists) ranks first in the NHL in scoring, while Landeskog (one goal, four assists) is tied for fourth and Rantanen (four assists) is tied for seventh in the league.

60.0

Colorado's man-advantage unit is converting at a 60.0 percent clip (3-for-5) so far in the postseason, the best power-play percentage in the NHL. The club converted on both of its man-up opportunities in Game 2, just the fourth time in franchise history and third time in team history the Avs have gone perfect on the man advantage in a postseason contest.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche/Nordiques franchise is 13-3 all-time in a best-of-seven series when winning the first two games and 13-1 since moving to Denver… Colorado owns a 53-47 mark on the road in the postseason since moving to Denver in 1995-96, including a 1-1 record when visiting the Blues in a best-of-seven series… The Avs have scored 10 goals in the postseason thus far, tied for the third most in the NHL… Nathan MacKinnon has scored five goals on 10 shots for a 50 percent shooting percentage, tied for the second best shooting percentage in the league… Ryan Graves nine blocked shots are tied for the third most in the 2021 postseason … The Avalanche sports a 9-7 mark in Game 3 of its first found matchups in team history (since 1995-96)… Nathan MacKinnon's hat trick in Game 2 is his first in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and he became first Avalanche player with a hat trick in the postseason since Valeri Kamensky did so on April 24, 1997 versus the Chicago Blackhawks (Game 5 of Western Conference Quarterfinal). It's the 10th hat trick in franchise playoff history and the fourth since the team moved to Denver… Colorado has tallied a power-play goal in three consecutive postseason matchups, dating back to Game 7 of Round 2 in 2020 against the Dallas Stars.