Avalanche Skate: Looking For Revenge Against Tampa; Meyers Returns

Just five days after taking a beating in Amalie Arena, the Colorado Avalanche will get another crack at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This time, they hope things go a little better for them.

“I think there’s mutual respect between the teams,” Mikko Rantanen said after morning skate. “It’s bounce back time for us. We got pumped in their building, so we try to do the same (to them) tonight.”

Head coach Jared Bednar didn’t mind the game in Tampa. He just didn’t like how they finished.

“I actually had us playing really well through 40 minutes,” Bednar said. “We made a couple of mistakes, we were down 3-0. And then after that, we kind of quit doing what we’re supposed to do. I think we got a few things we have to do better.”

One of the things he wants his team to do better is get in front of the goaltender. They did a better job of that against Florida, but against the best goaltender in the world, they need to get in his face.

“Against Tampa, we didn’t get in front of Vasilevsky enough,” Bednar said. “If you let him see the puck, it’s going to be a long night for you.”

Alexandar Georgiev is expected to start for the Avalanche tonight. With Pavel Francouz out, it may his net for a long period of time. Last time Francouz went out, Georgiev started 12 straight games. With a lot of back to backs coming up, Bednar hinted he might do that again, but wouldn’t commit fully to it.

Ben Meyers Back with Avalanche

Ben Meyers has struggled to score when up with the Avalanche. During the All-Star break, the Avalanche decided to send him to the Colorado Eagles. He remained there for four games, scoring two goals, picking up an assist, and even registering his first professional fight.

The report from the Eagles was a good one, as he will be back in the Avalanche lineup tonight.

“He did good,” Bednar said, when asked about how Meyers played with the Eagles. “Found a little scoring touch, which was nice to see. I think that was the biggest thing. We thought he was playing well here, but we wanted to get a little confidence with the puck, play with the puck a little more, which he was going to do at the American League level. Hopefully he can take a bit of this puck confidence with him into this scenario here tonight.”

News and Notes

• Josh Manson will not play tonight, but on the radio this morning, Bednar mentioned he’s a possibility for tomorrow.
• The Avalanche should have more information on the injury timelines for Erik Johnson and Francouz later today.
• Cale Makar took morning skate in a non-contact jersey, but remains out tonight. On the radio, Bednar said they’re hopeful he will be back this weekend, but they just need Makar to tell them he’s good to go.
• Valeri Nichushkin took another maintenance day, but will play tonight.