The Colorado Avalanche face the Boston Bruins for the last game of their three-game road trip.
The Colorado Avalanche are finishing their Original Six road trip in Boston. They’ve already played and defeated The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
Can they keep up the magic in Boston? They’ve already won five straight. They’re the healthiest they’ve been in over a month with the return of first Mikko Rantanen then Gabriel Landeskog and Andre Burakovsky.
However, it’s been a big road trip. They must have arrived in Boston in the middle of the night because they left right after the Montreal game — and they would have had to clear customs.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are enjoying a nice little homestand. They also played Thursday, against the Chicago Blackhawks, in Boston.
Well, let’s look at some ways the Avalanche can make their Original Six roadie perfect.
Skate Hard
The Boston Bruins have always played a heavy game — it’s just their identity. However, they know the trend is toward skating, and they’ve got players who can do that.
But not like Colorado. Not like the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avalanche are built for speed. And when they get their skating legs going, they’re hard to beat.
Play Gritty
Boston has also always liked to play gritty hockey. Again, it’s just how they roll. I mean, they employ Brad Marchand.
The Colorado Avalanche don’t play as gritty a game. They can, though, and they should tonight. The Avs definitely have players who don’t mind getting a little chippy.
Yeah, we all know the history of Nazem Kadri and the Bruins. That’s a non-starter, I’m sure.
Shut Down Dynamic Duo
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Going back to the Bruins’ skill they’ve got a dynamic duo in Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. They’re numbers one and two in stats for the Bruins. Marchand has 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists). Pastrnak has 43 points (25 goals, 18 assists).
That’s some offense. MacKinnon matches Marchand, but then it’s a big drop to Makar, who’s at 28 points. (That’s phenomenal for our rookie defenseman, but it does show MacK is still our primary scorer.)
Now, that’s not to say the Colorado Avalanche can’t out-score the Bruins. However, they need to shut down that pair as well. We’re missing our best shut down defenseman in Erik Johnson. However, Nikita Zadorov has looked really good in that role, and Ryan Graves isn’t too shabby either.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: Dec. 7, 5:00 pm MT
TV: ALT, NESN (Bruins’ feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (AM 950/FM 92.5)
This marks the second and final meeting between the two teams. The Avalanche beat Boston in Colorado 4-2 in October.