The Avs and Bruins face off for the first time in over two years
The Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins face off for the first time since December 7th, 2019 in TD Garden. In that very different time, the Avs found themselves on top 4-1 in that win. Tonight they look to get the best of the Bruins on National TV once again for the fourth time this week.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche, as we are all aware of, are on an incredible streak at the moment. They have won 16 straight games on home ice. They haven’t lost at home since November 3rd, 2021 in OT against the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4. They haven’t lost a game in regulation in the 2022 calendar year yet either.
With that being said, the Avs certainly haven’t been playing at the top of their game in these wins on home ice. While only scoring twice on Marc-Andre Fleury on Monday night in their 2-0 win, they have had slow starts against the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings in the past week.
The wins have come thanks to the first two lines putting pressure on opposition defenses, and some solid goaltending from Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz on a nightly basis. The combination of the two factors above, and hopefully more complete performances for a full 60 minutes will lead to a 17th straight home win.
Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog (92) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Mikko Rantanen (96)
Valeri Nichushkin (13) – Nazem Kadri (91) – Andre Burakovsky (95)
Logan O’Connor (25) – Alex Newhook (18) – J.T. Compher (37)
Tyson Jost (17) – Mikhail Maltsev (11) – Nicolas Aube-Kubel (16)
Defenders
Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Jack Johnson (3) – Samuel Girard (49)
Kurtis MacDermid (56) – Erik Johnson (3)
Boston Bruins
The Bruins continue to be one of the solid teams in the Eastern Conference, finding themselves lower in the standings than usual though. Thanks to the toughness of the Atlantic Division, the Bruins are only in fourth place sitting on 50 points.
The B’s are kicking off a three game road trip in a West Coast swing. The Bruins are coming off of a disappointing 5-3 loss at home to another Western Conference team in the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
The Bruins still have their usual star players, including the return of Tuukka Rask in goal and Brad Marchand holding his spot on the first line. Patrice Bergeron is coming off of an UBI after a hit last week and returning to form. However, they will be without Nick Foligno as he is out day-to-day.
Forwards
Brad Marchand (63) – Patrice Bergeron (37) – Craig Smith (12)
Taylor Hall (71) – Erik Haula (56) – David Pastrnak (88)
Jake DeBrusk (74) – Charlie Coyle (13) – Oskar Steen (62)
Anton Blidh (81)* – Tomas Nosek (92) – Curtis Lazar (20)
Defenders
Matt Grzelcyk (48) – Charlie McAavoy (73)
Mike Reilly (6) – Brandon Carlo (25)
Derek Forbort (28) – Connor Clifton (75)
*Game-time decision
Goaltending
The race to be the number one netminder for the Avalanche is certainly on. After Frankie’s spectacular performance against the Blackhawks, it will be his teammate Kuemper who will probably get the start. They’ll be in a heated race for the number one spot, probably trading it back and forth for a little while.
For the Bruins, it has to be Rask looking to dominate the net as he has for years on end.
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