The Colorado Avalanche will be heading into Montreal on Saturday night to face the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
The matchup promises to be an entertaining one, but could prove to be a formidable challenge without Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
The talk surrounding the Avalanche has focused on the potential absence of both superstars from the lineup on Saturday night amid the injury scares on Thursday night in Ottawa. Thus far, there has been no confirmation from the club regarding the two stars’ statuses heading into the weekend.
It seems that both MacKinnon and Makar will be game-time decisions, though the Avs have called up Gavin Brindley to possibly fill in a forward spot against the Canadiens.
Also, if Makar can’t go, Alex Gagne will be ready to step into the lineup.
Avalanche face significant line shuffling in MacKinnon absence
Should Nathan MacKinnon miss any time, it will likely mean Nazem Kadri will move up in the lineup. The 36-year-old had been manning the second line with Gabe Landeskog and Nic Roy. And so, Kadri will likely take the top-line center spot with Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen.
That would also mean Brock Nelson moving back into the second-line center role. Nelson had been bumped down this season amid a bit of an offensive drought. This opportunity may have come at a good time, as Nelson has been heating up of late. Nelson could well line up with Landeskog and Roy.
What will be interesting to see is who gets the third-line center role. A good bet would be Parker Kelly. He’s played down the middle before, mostly on the fourth line. Despite the egregious mistake in overtime on Thursday night, Kelly had a strong game. So, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Kelly back down the middle, potentially moving up into the third line. T.J. Hughes and Jaden Schwartz have been the main wingers on that third line.
Lastly, the fourth line could see Fedor Svechkov down the middle, with Logan O’Connor and Brindley in the mix. With the way Brindley had been playing with the Eagles, he could become an X-factor of sorts for the club.
Defensive pairs could also see a big change
Head coach Jared Bednar had mixed up his pairs a bit recently, mainly splitting up Devon Toews and Makar. Without Makar, it’s likely Toews moves up the top pair with Sam Malinski. That’s a combination we saw last season, and it worked pretty well.
That would leave Brett Kulak and Noah Juulsen to make an interesting middle pair. That duo could look like a tough and somewhat bruising shutdown pair.
Lastly, Gagne will likely make his NHL debut alongside one of the most experienced NHL defensemen, Brent Burns. That combo actually works really well, as the 24-year-old could certainly use some reassurance from the grizzled vet.
MacKenzie Blackwood will likely be in goal again, as the Avs look to get back into the win column. The team has been playing well over the last couple of weeks. So, let’s hope the club’s tremendous depth can show just how good this team is even without its two biggest superstars.
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