The Colorado Avalanche hit the ice on Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. The Avs are currently going through a two-game skid. With the club decimated by injuries, the hope is to have the core of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar lead the way.
The Avs with a 7-5 record face the Kraken with a nearly identical record of 7-5-1, in one of the night’s most interesting matchups. Both clubs will be vying for the two points as each game gradually becomes more meaningful as the season wears on.
So, let’s look at the key points ahead of Tuesday night’s Colorado Avalanche-Seattle Kraken clash.
Key points on the Colorado Avalanche-Seattle Kraken clash
Lehkonen back in the lineup
In a bit of wonderful injury news, Artturi Lehkonen will suit up for the first time this season. Lehkonen has been activated off IR and will make his season debut on Tuesday night. He’ll be skating on the top unit with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
Winger rotation continues
With Lehkonen’s arrival on the top unit, Joel Kiviranta now falls back to the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Logan O’Connor. Kiviranta has earned playing time in the top six. So, he should remain on the second line until further developments change the Avs’ lineup outlook.
Jonathan Drouin nearing a return
Head coach Jared Bednar said on Tuesday that Jonathan Drouin is close to returning to the team after missing the first chunk with an injury he sustained earlier in the year.
Annunen to get the start
The Avs essentially have three goalies at the moment. But against Seattle, it will be Justus Annunen between the pipes with Alexandar Georgiev backing him up. Kaapo Kahkonen got an audition against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well as everyone would have hoped.
At this point, Kahkonen could push himself into the picture with a strong game or two. However, time is running out as the Avs cannot carry three goalies forever.