Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche Run Into the Jets Again

By Ross Sellers

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Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche will face the Winnipeg Jets, and hopefully they can find a way to beat them again.

Division games are important, and the Colorado Avalanche have only played three up to this point. Luckily, they have a 2-1 record in those games, and would have a 3-0 record if that Minnesota Wild collapse had not happened.

One of those wins also came against the Winnipeg Jets only a few nights ago, so hopefully that trend will continue tonight. The Colorado Avalanche have played 22 games, and only three have been divisional, and eight against the West in general.

So, it’s still very possible for them to make a turnaround if they can find ways to win against their division and conference. That starts tonight as the Jets come to town.

Some Colorado Avalanche Updates

Coming into tonight’s game there’s a few things Avalanche fans should know, if they don’t already:

That’s a good video to watch in preparation for tonight’s game. Patrick Roy mentioned that Dennis Everberg was sent down, well Andrew Agozzino is finally going to get a shot this season:

Agozzino joins the lineup, and it will be interesting to see how Roy uses him throughout the game. It’s a safe bet that he’ll take Everberg’s spot on the fourth line. But, Agozzino is a good offensive player so he could find himself jumping the lineup if he plays well.

Game Notes

— Puck drop is at 8 p.m. Mountain tonight, for a late matchup

— The Colorado Avalanche need to be better on home ice, they come into tonight’s game with a 2-6-1 record where they should have the advantage.

— The Winnipeg Jets come into tonight’s game on a skid in their last ten: going 3-7 in that span, however they’re 3-2 in their last five games, including a win last night against the Minnesota Wild.

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—  The Colorado Avalanche have had a nice two-day break since their loss to Ottawa on Wednesday night, plenty of time to shake the turkey hangover.

It’s been a frustrating season for Colorado Avalanche fans, but division games are always something to get up for. Hopefully the team gets up for it as well.

Colorado Avalanche Players to Watch

— The most obvious player to watch will be Andrew Agozzino. He played in one game for the Colorado Avalanche last season, and earned an assist in the game. Also he’s been a productive player in the AHL throughout his career. This season he has 16 points in 13 games for the San Antonio Rampage.

— With two games left in November, Matt Duchene has a chance to break the franchise record for goals in that month. He’s currently tied with Claude Lemieux in that category with 10.

— Patrick Roy has said that Semyon Varlamov will start, but it’s safe to say that he’s been embarrassing this year. Nonetheless, if you watched the video then you certainly have a good sense of how Roy feels about Varly.

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— Tyson Barrie needs to be better as well. He has 14 points in 19 games, but he’s not scoring goals, and it just doesn’t seem like he’s flying as much as he normally does.

— Nathan MacKinnon will always be at the center of attention, and tonight will be no different. He’s still in the top-ten of the scoring leaders this season, and three points would catapult him to the top 4.

— Keep an eye on Jarome Iginla. He started the season like a hot iron, but he’s been doused since and has cooled tremendously in the stagnant water that awaits the iron. He’s going to need to be better for this team to get some depth scoring.

— Mikhail Grigorenko is quickly becoming one of my favorite players to watch on this team. He plays a real simple game, and doesn’t make many mistakes because of it. He also seems to be getting more comfortable pulling tricks out of his bag as the season goes on, and I expect a good 40 or so points out of him this season.

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— Finally, how about Cody McLeod? I don’t know if he should be playing on the second line, but he is the fire that this team needs to turn things around. He might be looking at a career season if he continues to play this well.

These players lead by example, and maybe you could argue that Grigorenko doesn’t fall under that category, but he’ll find that role with time.

If the Colorado Avalanche want to get back on track it will come down to how these players continue to play, and how much their play affects those that play around them.

How do the Colorado Avalanche Win Tonight?

Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending. Semyon Varlamov will be in net tonight and he will need to shoulder the load.

Next: Colorado Avalanche Need to Pull it Together

I really don’t think that anything else matters more than goaltending for this team right now, they’ve lost 4 out of their last 5 and allowed 22 goals in that span. Of course that’s not all goaltending, but it will need to be better if they stand to find the playoffs.

So, the team hits the ice again, and hopefully they’ll find another win against the Central Division tonight. It will be tough, but the Colorado Avalanche are the more rested team, and they need to show that tonight.

What do you think Avs nation? What do they need to do to win tonight? Can Dutchy break the franchise record for goals scored in November? Will it be tonight? How about Iginla? Can he get back on track and provide some depth scoring for this team? Let us know in the comments! 

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