Grubauer in goal again, vs. Senators

OTTAWA – No morning skate for the Avalanche today, which means we had to wait longer than usual to get the starting goalie information out of the Avs.

It will be Philipp Grubauer in net against the Ottawa Senators, who have a weird record in the last 10 games (2-2-6), but who often have given the Avs problems in this building.

I’m sitting here now in the press box, a full two hours before the puck is slated to drop. Nobody much likes the 7:30 local game times here, preferring the 7 p.m. hour, but here we are. If you’re watching at home, at least you have a bit more time to get home and see it.

The Avs will have the exact same lineup as the last couple of games. Calle Rosen is the seventh D-man, and Vladislav Kamenev will join him as the healthy scratch.

The Senators, coached by former Av D.J. Smith, don’t announce their starting goalie, but I’m hearing it’ll be former Av Craig Anderson, who is 6-4-1 career against Colorado (although with a poor .867 saves percentage and 3.91 GAA). *(Nope, it was Marcus Hogberg).

Avs can’t sleep on these guys. The Senators are not the horrible club of the last few years. No, not a great team still, but they are a scrappy bunch and Brady Tkachuk is a darn good player.