The Colorado Avalanche come off a tough loss to conference foe Golden Knights. They now have fellow conference and division foe, St. Louis Blues, next on the docket.

Embed from Getty Images

The Colorado Avalanche is in the middle of finding an identity and fitting in some new pieces. This has many in Avalanche Country looking to pull the rip-cord. I say hold on, this is a long season that is only 2-weeks old. No wholesale changes should be made after 5 games.

With that being said, there are some areas of concern. The Avalanche has the 30th ranked power-play at a paltry 9.1%. They are also 26th in penalty minutes (71) and 23rd in shooting% (.083). No offensive category has them ranked above 20th.

The undefeated Blues on the other hand…well just look at this team comparison against the Colorado Avalanche courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

The Blues have come out the gate firing after their early exit at the hands of the Avalanche in last year’s playoffs. But they will be without old friends Ryan O’Reilly and Brandon Saad due to Covid-19 protocols that played a big role in their win over the Avs earlier this season. Ryan and Brandon combined for 2 points, 3 SOGs, 21 FWs, 1 hit, 4 blocks, and 3 takeaways in the Blues’ 5-3 win. They obviously had a point to prove to their old squad.

This does not mean this Blues squad is overwhelmingly weakened. They still have the likes of top goal scorer David Perron (6 G) and Vladimir Tarasenko who has 6 points and 26 SOG. This St. Louis squad is still loaded for bear and a home crowd to feed off of.

Embed from Getty Images

They also have the confidence of thoroughly dominating this team in their house just a little more than a week ago. Those memories are fresh for both the Avs and Blues bench. Not so sure they are in Vegas as they have the Blues as home underdogs as of this writing. Either they see the losses of O’Reilly and Saad or see more in the Knights loss than even I did.

Key Stats:

.910

Yes, the Colorado Avalanche has lost twice this season with their goalie surpassing this mark. This is an outlier, market correction will come, and should soon.

-5

This is the combined +/- of Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. While their scoring has seen an uptick over the last 2 games, their efficiency is still lacking.

Key Players:

Logan O’Connor: Can the little-known winger continue to shine on defense while adding some offense? (13 SOGs, 1 pt)

Bo Byram/Cale Makar: Can the youngsters trust the process after a tough loss and keep up the defensive energy they displayed throughout the Knights matchup?

Mikko Rantanen: He is the early season MVP and most consistent player on both ends. Can he continue this ride to a possible career year?

Final Prediction:

Colorado 3- St. Louis 1

We are affiliated with some companies/links on this page and may receive a commission if you make a purchase through them. Prices are subject to change.

The Colorado Avalanche return home a little banged up. Las Vegas comes in depleted in what should have been a marquee matchup.

Embed from Getty Images

The Colorado Avalanche draw another tough foe with an injury-depleted roster in their return to Ball Arena. Las Vegas comes into the Mile High City limping, both figuratively and literally. They have 9 players on the IL currently, with names varying from Zac Whitecloud to Max Pacioretty. They will not get the best of their division rival in this one.

The Colorado Avalanche have returned to the favorites and it’s easy to see why Vegas would turn against it’s own when you look at this team comparison courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

As much as I have made of the Avalanche’s struggles on the power-play. The Knights are one of only two teams that are worse. Vegas has yet to score a power-play goal this season. And one thing I probably haven’t talked about enough is the Avalanche Penalty Kill unit. They are stoning opponent power-plays at an 81.3% clip. That’s despite the sloppy play during their 3-game losing streak that has them middle of the pack in penalty minutes.

Not drawing penalties is one strength this Vegas team has shown in the early going. As evidenced by the graphic above showing they are 2nd in the league currently. This means we may not have to talk much about power-plays like in our other previews and reviews. But this is historically a heated rivalry, so that could counteract this balance.

Embed from Getty Images

However this matchup ends up going, it will sure to be a hard-fought victory either way. Vegas has prided itself on its size and scoring ability. While the Avalanche has gone the speed and athleticism route. Which has always led to some exhilarating matchups. I’m not so sure Vegas has the bodies left to keep up in the thin air of Denver.

Key Stats:

5

That’s how many points MacKinnon has after his big game in Tampa. For the Avs to continue winning, he will need this to spark his own personal streak. As he goes, this team goes.

3.51

This is Darcy Kuemper’s current GAA, although he bounced back nicely against Tampa. He needs to get this much closer to his career average of 2.48. Avalanche fans should look forward to some market correction here.

Key Players:

Bo Byram: His fire against Tampa was wonderful to see and as I have stressed, this Knights team has been lightened. He will need to throw his weight around.

Cale Makar: Just like with Bo, can he continue the improved defensive effort and physical play he displayed against Tampa?

Mikko Rantanen: The current Avs Goal Leader is an underrated scoring asset this team deploys deftly. If he can continue this pace with the improved play of Mack and Landy, this team will show why they are the favorites for a second straight President’s Trophy.

Final Prediction:

Colorado 4 – Las Vegas 1

We are affiliated with some companies/links on this page and may receive a commission if you make a purchase through them. Prices are subject to change.