Colorado Avalanche Look to Stay Hot Against Boston
The Colorado Avalanche are back in action, against the Boston Bruins, after being off for five days. Here are some keys to keeping hot.
The Colorado Avalanche are finally back from a long break. It seems like it was summer again with how long we had to wait between games.
Ok, it was just five days since the last time Colorado played. However, it’s a weird schedule seeing the Avs play two games and then immediately have five days off.
Well, they’re back at it tonight. As of right now, the Avalanche are undefeated and looking to go 82-0 on the season. I know that’s not possible, but there’s no reason they can’t go 3-0 tonight.
They need to. It’s too early to worry about the standings, except it’s never too early to worry about the standings in the tough Central Division. Colorado needs to accumulate as many points as possible early in the season for the inevitable mid-season slump.
And it continues tonight. So, let’s look to some keys for how the Avs can keep their hot streak going against the Bs.
Shake Off the Rust
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Five days isn’t really a huge amount of time between games. Except this five-game hiatus came at the beginning of the season, when Colorado had played only two games. It’s hard to get into a rhythm like that. And heaven knows fans didn’t appreciate the long break after waiting so many months for Avs hockey to return.
That said, the Avs players did seem to get banged up against the (hated) Minnesota Wild. Nazem Kadri blocked a shot with his ankle, which immediately made him regret all his life choices. (Or, at least, that one.) Mere minutes later, Joonas Donskoi went down with an apparent shoulder injury.
Nonetheless, the Bruins have been in a better rhythm, having played a pert-near every-other-day schedule since the season opener. Colorado will want to shake off the rust.
Get the Second Line Going
I guess I’m going to have to mention this until the second liners all score goals: Tyson Jost isn’t a bust. One game in, Avs fans were already turning on him. Two games in, both Adrian Dater at Colorado Hockey Now and A.J. Haefele at DNVR were fielding questions about when he should be demoted.
And even Tom Hunter at Mile High Hockey and I were in agreement that it’s too soon to be so dire about the 21-year-old kid. And we never agree.
So, the second line has to have a strong night to at least quell some of the noise surrounding Jost.
Update: I wrote this section before the Avalanche’s practice yesterday. JT Compher is injured, and Tyson Jost took his place as the third-line center. 🤬But then, Bednar prefers Jost as a center. So, this key is “Hopefully Jost scores and so does Kadri and Burakovsky, both of whom are looking for their first goals as Avalanche players.”
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: Oct. 3, 7:00 pm MT
TV: ALT*, FS-N, FS-WI** (Wild’s feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5/AM 950)
*The Big 3 carriers have colluded to block Altitude TV from being broadcast in the Denver Metro area.
Next. The Fan Suggests Benching Kadri. dark
The Bruins are coming off a 4-2 win over the Knights in Vegas. The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. All-time, Colorado has gone 22-10-1-1(ties) against Boston. Last season each team won at home.