Adrian Dater
It will be a slightly different-looking Colorado Avalanche team tonight against the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena, where for the first time since last March paying customers will be allowed in the building (4,050 of them anyway). Here is the lineup for the Avalanche:
Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Saad-Kadri-Burakovsky
Nichushkin-Jost-Donskoi
Compher-Bellemare-O’Brien
D
Toews-Girard
Graves-Makar
Renouf-MacDonald
Johansson in net
OK, so first question answered: Yes, Jonas Johansson is in goal for the Avs. It’ll be his second start for the Avs. Philipp Grubauer was given Thursday off from all hockey activities and the same applies for today. He is expected to start tomorrow’s game against the Blues.
Second question: Who is “O’Brien?” Don’t you mean, “O’Connor Dater?” Answer: No, it’s Liam O’Brien, who will be playing his first NHL game since 2017-18 season for the Washington Capitals. He will replace Logan O’Connor, who will be out “weeks”, coach Jared Bednar said today. O’Connor is still getting evaluated for his lower-body injury, but it’s obviously more serious than people might have thought. It’s a tough blow for the Avs, as LOC had added so much energy and jam on that fourth line.
O’Brien is a genuine tough guy though, folks. He’s 6-1, about 215 and has several fights under his belt in his 17-game NHL career. Can he play at all? Well, here are his career stats. Seems like he’s had some offensive ability, at least in the minors.
NOTEBOOK: Bo Byram skated this morning, but won’t play this weekend. … Bednar said Pavel Francouz and Erik Johnson remain out “long term.” … Jordan Binnington will start in goal for the Blues. … Avs are listed as -215 favorites on the moneyline to win outright, at SuperBook Colorado.
There is an odds boost, too, at SuperBook: If Gabe Landeskog scores a goal, the boost has been made from +200 to +250.