COLORADO AVALANCHE (8-4-0) VS ST. LOUIS BLUES (6-5-1)
7:00 PM MDT | BALL ARENA | WATCH: Altitude TV| LISTEN: 92.5 FM
The Colorado Avalanche take on the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night at Ball Arena for the second of four matchups between the two teams during the regular season. The Avalanche-Blues tilt can be watched on Altitude TV, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MDT.
Latest Results:
November 9, 2023 | SEA: 4, COL: 3
November 9, 2023 | STL: 2, ARI: 1
AVALANCHE TUNES
The Avalanche posted a 4-1 win in Denver on November 1 for the first of four contests versus the Blues this season. St. Louis forward Robert Thomas scored the Blues' only goal while four different Avs saw the back of the net (Bowen Byram, Artturi Lehkonen, Mikko Rantanen and Ross Colton). Nathan MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Cale Makar all had a multi-point game at two points apiece (MacKinnon, 0g/2a; Rantanen, 1g/1a; Makar, 0g/2a).
Rantanen continues to lead Colorado in points with 18 (8g/10a) on the season, followed by Makar with 15 points (3g/12a), both of whom played in all 12 games.
HISTORY
Colorado owns a 74-68-11-7 all-time record against St. Louis, with a 46-26-7-3 mark at home. Last season the Avalanche went 3-1-0 against the Blues with the lone loss at Ball Arena on November 14, 2022. The other matchups between the teams this season are set for December 29 and March 19 in St. Louis.
BLUES PLAYLIST
Robert Thomas leads the Blues with 11 points (6g/5a) in 12 games. He’s notched a goal in five straight contests and has only been off the scoresheet in two games this year.
There is a tie between Brandon Saad and Brayden Schenn who leads all active Blues skaters with 22 career points against the Avalanche. Saad - who played for the Avs in 2020-21 - has tallied nine goals and 13 assists in 34 games, while Schenn has accumulated 11 goals and 11 assists in 36 games versus the Avalanche.
Schenn leads active Blues in career goals (11g/11a) in 36 games versus Colorado. Of those 22 points, half (4g/7a) have been scored in Denver. Four out of his 11 goals have been scored on the power play against Colorado.
The Blues are 30th in the league with 28 goals scored this season. St. Louis enters tonight dead last in the league on the power play, scoring only once in 35 attempts (2.9%). The Blues have more shorthanded goals (2) than power-play goals (1).
St. Louis has been penalized the least in the league with 85 penalty minutes.
LAST GAME MELODY
Seattle put a blemish on Colorado's then-undefeated 4-0-0 home record on Thursday, Nov. 9 in a 4-3 victory at Ball Arena. Oliver Bjorkstrand’s second goal of the game broke a tie with 32 seconds remaining in regulation. The only Avalanche to have a multi-point game with three points (1g/2a) was MacKinnon. Colorado went 0-for-3 on the power-play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.
St. Louis did not sing the blues on Thursday, Nov. 9 with a 2-1 triumph against Arizona at home. Thomas and Oskar Sundqvist notched a goal while Jakub Vrana, Sammy Blais, Pavel Buchnevich and Torey Krug picked up an assist. The Blues went 0-for-7 on the man advantage and 1-for-1 on the penalty-kill.
NUMBERS GAME
48
Nathan MacKinnon paces active Avalanche scorers against the Blues with 48 career points (17g/31a) in 43 games. When at home, MacKinnon has accumulated 24 of those points (9g/15a). The centerman has recorded seven power-play goals and 13 power-play assists versus the Blues.
13
Ryan Johansen went 13-for-20 on face-offs against the Blues in the first game versus St. Louis 10 days ago, which is tied for his second-most face-off wins in a game this season.
8
Cale Makar has eight points (0g/8a) in the last four home games. On the season overall, Makar leads the team with a plus-10 rating.
QUOTE(S) THAT LEFT A MARK
“He’s obviously one of the toughest guys on the team. He’s hard as nails. Especially when he doesn’t get up, you get a little worried because it could be something a little more serious…Hopefully, everything goes well because he’s obviously a huge part of us.”
- Colorado Defenseman Cale Makar on Artturi Lehkonen’s collision
