Colorado Avalanche Looking for Redemption vs Dallas Stars

The Colorado Avalanche will try to even out the series between them and their Central Division rival Dallas Stars.

The Colorado Avalanche are going to be looking for redemption when they host the Dallas Stars at the Pepsi Center. After the results of their first match of the season, the two teams have faced each other 112 times. The Avalanche have now gone 54-41-9-8(ties) against Dallas.

Colorado faced Dallas twice in the preseason. They won both games, going 5-1 at home and 4-2 in Dallas. That doesn’t count, of course. During their regular season contest against the Stars, the Avs dropped a 3-1 decision.

How to Enjoy the Game

Game time: October 24, 7:00 pm MT
TV Networks: Altitude TV (Avs feed), FS-SW (Stars feed)

Radio: Altitude Radio (AM 950)

Analysis of the Last Avs-Stars Game

The Colorado Avalanche were in their second game of a back-to-back series. They had hosted the Anaheim Ducks in a contentious battle that saw Colorado win 3-1. They flew to Dallas right afterward.

Fatigue shouldn’t be an excuse so early in the season. However, there’s no question that the Avs played sluggish hockey through two periods, allowing Dallas to go up 2-0.

Matt Duchene scored early in the third period, which seemed to give the Avalanche some life. Indeed, they played well throughout most of the third period. However, defenseman Nikita Zadorov took a penalty, and Patrik Nemeth squared old quarrels with former teammate Tyler Seguin in a brawl. That took the steam out of Colorado.

Roster Changes for the Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche rookies J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost have been placed on injured reserve. Compher suffered a broken thumb while blocking a shot in the game against the St. Louis Blues and is expected to be out three weeks. Jost has a “lower body injury” and is expected to be out two to three weeks.

To bolster the roster, the Avs have recalled forwards Gabriel Bourque and A.J. Greer. Both were in practice yesterday, but it’s a better bet that Greer suits up for the team tonight.

Defenseman Patrik Nemeth is day-to-day with a “lower body injury.” He attempted practice but left the ice early on. Colorado has recalled Alexei Mironov. However, it’s expected the defensive corps will consist of Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, Nikita Zadorv, Anton Lindholm, Mark Barberio and Chris Bigras.

Importance of Game to the Colorado Avalanche

More from Mile High Sticking

The Colorado Avalanche started out the season hot, with a 4-1-0 record. Their top stars were producing, and some of the players they’d taken a chance on, such as Nail Yakupov and J.T. Compher, were fitting in nicely.

The first Stars game of the year heralded the return of the old bad habits. Defensive breakdowns. Bonehead plays. Players trying to do too much by themselves. Passengers. That game started the three-game losing skid that took Colorado into their four-day break.

The Avalanche need to nip this problem in the bud. They had an undisciplined game against the New Jersey Devils, especially in regards to the power play, and they fixed the issue. The Avs didn’t reset like that after the Stars or Nashville Predators loss.

Colorado has had three mandatory and one optional practice since the St. Louis Blues game last Thursday. The hope is that they’ve been working on fixing those issues.

Next: Greer and Bourque at Practice

This is the second of five meetings between the Central Division rival Avalanche and Stars . They play again on November 22 and December 3, both in Colorado. The Avs travel to Dallas for their final meeting on January 13.

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