St. Louis Blues (23-24-4) @ Colorado Avalanche (29-21-2)
7 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude2, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche return home from a three-game road trip to face off against the St. Louis Blues. This is the first of four meetings between the division rivals as they'll. play again in Denver on March 29th and in St. Louis on February 23rd and April 5th.
Latest Result (COL): COL 2, NYI 5
Latest Result (STL): VAN 5, STL 2
Defeated on Long Island
The Avalanche lost 5-2 to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday. Artturi Lehkonen and Jack Drury scored for Colorado while Martin Necas added a pair of assists. After a scoreless first period, New York’s Anders Lee opened the scoring with a goal at 4:11 of the second period. At 13:00 of the middle frame, Lehkonen tied the game with his 21st goal of the season via a shot from the left doorstep while sitting down. With that tally, Lehkonen extended his goal streak to three games and tied his career-high for goals in a season. In the third period, the Islanders took a 3-1 lead after goals from Simon Holmstrom at 1:54 and Bo Horvat at 11:23. Scoring his fifth goal of the season and second in as many games, Drury pulled the Avs within a goal on a breakaway at 14:55 of the third period. The Islanders took a 4-2 lead at 17:31 when Alexander Romanov scored and extended their advantage with Holmstrom’s empty-net goal at 18:50.
Avs at the Top
Nate the Great
Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (78) and assists (59).
All Hail Cale
Among defensemen, Cale Makar is first in goals (18), second in points (56) and tied for fourth in assists (38).
A Marty Party
Necas is seventh in the league in assists (43).
History
In 119 previous regular-season matchups, the Avalanche are 62-44-13 against the Blues. The Avs have won all three playoff series against the Blues, winning 4-1 in the 2001 Western Conference Final, 4-0 in the 2021 First Round and 4-2 in the 2022 Western Conference Second Round.
Blues in St. Louis
The Blues lost 5-2 to the Vancouver Canucks at Enterprise Center on Monday. Vancouver’s Conor Garland opened the scoring at 2:52 of the first and then scored a power-play goal at 15:53 of the opening frame. In the second period, J.T. Miller scored to put the Canucks up 3-0 on the power play at 8:26. The Blues got on the board with a power-play goal from Dylan Holloway at 10:08 but Pius Suter restored Vancouver’s three-goal lead with a short-handed tally at 13:36 of the middle frame. Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis at 4:22 of the third to make it 4-2 but Tyler Myers gave Vancouver a 5-2 lead with an empty-net goal at 17:57.
Gateway to the Goal
In 46 regular-season games against the Blues, MacKinnon has posted 50 points (17g/33a) in addition to 17 points (9g/8a) in 11 playoff games.
Makar has recorded 25 points (5g/20a) in 22 regular-season contests against St. Louis as well as six points (1g/5a) in 11 playoff games.
Necas has registered eight points (4g/4a) in seven regular-season games against the Blues.
Best Blue Notes
Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in points (42) and goals (21) while being third in assists (21).
Robert Thomas leads the Blues in assists (24), is third in points (36) and fourth in goals (12).
Holloway is second on the Blues in points (38), goals (16) and assists (22).
A Numbers Game
6
The two newest Avs, Necas and Drury, have combined for six points (2g/4a) in their first three games with Colorado.
24
The Avalanche’s 24 regulation wins this season are tied for the ninth most in the NHL.
279
MacKinnon has posted 279 points (107g/172a) in 258 regular-season games against Central Division opponents in his career.
Quote That Left a Mark
“I thought they were great again. The Drury line was outstanding tonight. They scored twice and one was called back. Necas was really good with [MacKinnon] again. They had a lot of zone time, a lot of chances.”
-- Jared Bednar on the performances of Martin Necas and Jack Drury on Tuesday
