Avalanche vs. Blues, Game 9: Lines, Starting Goalies & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche are giving Alexandar Georgiev a well deserved night off against the St. Louis Blues.

Ivan Prosvetov, who was picked up on waivers by the Avalanche at the start of October, will start against the Blues. It will be his first start in a Colorado sweater, and only his 12th career NHL start.

I asked Bednar how important it was for the 24 year old goaltender to get to work with Jussi Parkkila for the last three weeks to prepare.

“I think it’s really important,” Bednar said. “Number one, on the ice every day, having his own net, getting used to the structure of the game, so he knows if there’s a breakdown, where it might come from. Gives him a better chance to succeed, both 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. I think the more comfortable you are, the more chance you get to work on the details of your game before and after practice, the better prepared he’s going to be. I worry a little bit about the layoff, but it is what it is.”

Who plays in front of Prosvetov on the Avalanche is still up in the air.

Both Cale Makar and Bowen Byram were on the ice at morning skate, but neither were made available to the media. I will say that it looked like Byram was walking off the ice with a limp after skate, but Bednar called their presence this morning “promising.” Makar ran the top powerplay unit at morning skate, so between the two, I feel more confident he’ll play, but we’ll find out after warmups. Both are game-time decisions.

If one can’t go, Caleb Jones will step into the lineup.

The big surprise is that it looks like the Avalanche will scratch not just one, but two NHL veterans against the Blues. Both Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Drouin stayed out on the ice late to continue working, while Kurtis MacDermid got off early. That typically is a hint at who will end up playing, but Bednar didn’t confirm after skate. Putting MacDermid in would be a mild surprise for a team that hasn’t been able to score goals, but it likely means more double shifting of MacKinnon and Rantanen.

I had a good chat with Ross Colton this morning, and will have that up later for CHN+ subscribers.

The first goalie off the ice for the Blues this morning was Jordan Binnington, so it looks like the Avalanche will see him tonight. He’s probably been the Blues best player this season, as they aren’t scoring a ton of goals. Their leading scorer is Robert Thomas, who has a modest 5 points in 7 games.

Tonight’s game is on TNT, so expect puck drop to happen around 7:52 PM MST. The game is also scheduled to be on Altitude, so there could be a potential blackout situation here.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

Riley Tufte – Ryan Johansen – Valeri Nichushkin

Miles Wood – Ross Colton – Logan O’Connor

Andrew Cogliano – Fredrik Olofsson – Kurtis MacDermid

Defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Bowen Byram –  Sam Girard

Jack Johnson – Josh Manson

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Ivan Prosvetov

Expected St. Louis Blues Lineup

Buchnevich – Thomas – Kapanen

Saad – Schenn – Kyrou

Vrana – Hayes – Neighbours

Toropchenko – Sundqvist – Blais

Defense:

Scandella – Parayko

Krug – Faulk

Leddy – Tucker

Goalies:

Jordan Binnington

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 18.8%, 15th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 93.8%, 3rd in NHL

St. Louis Blues Power Play: 4.8%, 32nd in NHL

St. Louis Blues Penalty Kill: 80%, 14th in NHL

How to Watch

TV: TNT, Max, Altitude 2

Radio: Altitude Radio 92.5 FM

Game Time: 7:30 PM MST