Second Round Series Preview: Avalanche vs. Blues

The Colorado Avalanche continue the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday, May 17 as they will go head-to-head in the best-of-seven Second Round series against fellow Central Division foe the St. Louis Blues.

After clinching the top seed in the Western Conference the Avalanche have the advantage of home ice. Game 1 between Colorado and St. Louis will begin on Tuesday, May 17 at Ball Arena with a 7:30 p.m. MT puck drop.
Here's a comprehensive look at the Second-Round matchup between the Avs and Blues:

LOOKING BACK AT THE REGULAR SEASON SERIES:

The Avalanche posted a 2-1-0 record during their three-game regular season series against the Blues.
In the regular season series, J.T. Compher led the way with six points (3G, 3A), while Nazem Kadri registered four points (2G, 2A) and Cale Makar totaled three points (1G, 2A). For the Blues, Jordan Kyrou paced his team's offense in the regular season with six points on as many assists, while former Avalanche member and now captain of St. Louis Ryan O'Reilly tallied four points (3G, 1A).
Of Colorado's netminders, Darcy Kuemper dressed in all three meetings, posting a 2-1-0 record, a GAA of 3.40 and a SV% of .870%. Of St. Louis' goaltenders, Jordan Binnington played in all three contests and recorded a 1-2-0 record, a GAA of 3.78 and a SV% of .897%.
The first meeting of the regular season took place back on Oct. 16, 2021 as St. Louis claimed a 5-3 win. After going down 3-0, Colorado trimmed its deficit with a goal from Andre Burakovsky. Former Avs winger Tyson Jost also scored as did Compher, who put up two points (1G, 1A). Kuemper made 23 saves on 27 shots. Colorado was 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.

The teams faced off soon after on Oct. 28, 2021 where Colorado earned a 4-3 regulation win. Compher scored twice - including once on the power play - while Makar posted two points on a goal and an assist and Kadri also scored. Kuemper made 15 saves on 18 shots in the victory. The Avs were 1-for-5 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
The final and most recent meeting between clubs took place on April 26, where Colorado picked up a 5-3 victory. Valeri Nichushkin (1G, 1A), Erik Johnson, Josh Manson, Artturi Lehkonen and Kadri all scored, while Compher handed out two helpers. Kuemper made 29 saves on 32 shots. Colorado was 0-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.

THE LAST POSTSEASON MEETING:

It was just last season that the Avs and Blues met in the First Round, where top-seeded Colorado swept St. Louis, who held a Wild Card and fourth-seed in the West Division.
Their previous postseason meeting was in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers round-robin game where the Avalanche won the contests 2-1. The prior playoff series between the two teams took place back in the 2001 Western Conference Final, where Colorado won in five games.

SCOUTING THE BLUES:

The Blues finished the regular season situated in third in the Central Division with a 49-22-11 overall record and 109 points. In the regular season, they averaged the third-most goals for per game in the league at 3.77 goals and finished in the top-10 with the second-highest producing power play at 27.0% and a fifth-ranked penalty kill at 84.1%.
St. Louis boasts one of the deepest offensive groups in the NHL after benefitting from having nine different skaters produce 20-plus goals during the regular season. The Blues know how to distribute the wealth as they have those skaters spread out throughout their top three lines.
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So far, David Perron leads the Blues in scoring in the postseason where he compiled nine points (5G, 4A). In addition to Perron's five goals, captain and former Avalanche forward Ryan O'Reilly and Russian winger Vladimir Tarasenko each also have posted five goals.
Brandon Saad - who played last season with the Avalanche - finished the regular season with his highest point total (49 points, 24G, 25A) since the 2016-17 season and has produced three points through the First Round.
This marked the fourth-straight berth to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for St. Louis and the first time since the team's Stanley Cup-winning run in 2019, that they advanced to the Second Round.

INJURY STATUS:

Colorado enters the Second Round with a fully healthy lineup per Bednar.
Forward Andrew Cogliano had suffered an upper-body injury and did not return after Game 1, but has been a full-participant with his team. Netminder Darcy Kuemper left Game 3 in the final minute of the first period against the Predators after an array stick struck him through his mask. Kuemper was out for the remainder of Game 3 and Game 4 due to "swelling," but has joined his team as a full-participant.
For the Blues, defensemen Torey Krug (lower body) and Marco Scandella (lower body) are currently sidelined.
Krug left Game 3 midway through the first period and has not drawn back in the lineup. The blueliner posted three assists through three postseason games. Scandella has been sidelined since Game 2.
Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo (missed Games 3 and 4) and Trade Deadline acquisition Nick Leddy (missed Games 2-4) both missed time during the First Round due to their respective upper-body injuries, but both were in the lineup in the team's closeout performance in Game 6.

COLORADO'S LETHAL OFFENSE:

The Avs - like the Blues - benefit from their wealth of depth, especially offensively. In the First Round, Colorado received contributions to the scoresheet from 16-of-19 skaters that recorded at least a point.
Cale Makar paced the team with 10 points (3G, 7A), including three different three-point outings. His 10 points are the most in NHL history by a defenseman through four games in a postseason.
Nathan MacKinnon
scored in all four games producing five goals and six points in that span, which marks the longest goal streak to start a playoff year in franchise history and second longest in franchise history behind Michel Goulet's five-game run to open the 1985 postseason with Quebec.
Colorado's offense averaged 5.25 goals for per game, the most in the NHL throughout the series. In addition to scoring five-plus goals in three-of-the-four games, the team also put up seven goals twice in the series (Games 1 and 3). The Avs also averaged the second-most shots for per game with a nightly average of 44 shots.

GOALTENDING:

Avalanche:
Kuemper made the start through the first three games of the series, but left after sustaining an injury in the final minute of the first period in Game 3 on a freak accident play where Nashville's Ryan Johnansen's stick went through Kuemper's mask.
Through his two-full games and 147:29 minutes in net, Kuemper allowed only four goals against, making 57 saves on 61 shots for a SV% of .934% and a GAA of 1.63.
In his place,
Pavel Francouz
took over in Game 3 and started in Game 4. Francouz made 46 saves on 51 shots, allowing five goals through 100:57 minutes. In total, he earned a SV% of .902 SV% and a GAA of 2.97.
Blues:
Husso initially started the First Round series for St. Louis and played in Games 1-3, but after Minnesota took a 2-1 lead in the series, Blues Head Coach Craig Berube switched to Binnington. During the first three games, Husso posted a 1-2-0 record, a 3.02 GAA and a SV% of .906% and earned one shutout. During the regular season, Husso claimed a 25-7-6 record, a 2.56 GAA, a .919 SV% and two shutouts.
Binnington recorded a 3-0-0 record in Games 4-6, a 1.67 GAA and a .943 SV%. With a win in game 5, Binnington became the winning goaltender in St. Louis Blues playoff history as he secured his 18th win and extended that to 19 wins following Game 6. In the regular season, Binnington owned a 18-14-4 record, a 3.13 GAA, .901 SV% and two shutouts.

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POTENTIAL X-FACTORS:

Colorado winger Mikko Rantanen:
Rantanen has yet to score a goal in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, but still finished the First Round with five points on as many helpers. Rantanen's goal drought wasn't for a lack of effort - as he struck the post in Game 3 - and was still a dynamic presence among his linemates in the First Round in MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin.
During the regular season, Rantanen - prior to an end-of-season non-COVID related illness - was on-pace to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his career, but fell just short with 92 points (36G, 56A) through 75 games.
Another notable player to watch, could be Compher due to his track record of success in the regular season against the Blues where he totaled a team-high six points (3G, 3A) and tied Kadri for the most shots taken in the series with nine apiece.
St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou:
Jordan Kyrou registered four points (3G, 1A) in the series against Minnesota. During the regular season, the 24-year-old collected 75 points (27G, 48A) in 74 games. And while he never lit the lamp throughout the three-game regular season series against Colorado, Kyrou paced his team with six points on as many assists in the series.
He's currently playing on the wing of Ivan Barbashev's line alongside Saad.
For the full Second-Round schedule between the Avalanche and Blues,
click here
.