Evan’s NHL Daily: Unstoppable Tufte, Hughes Goes Down

The Colorado Avalanche are set to take on the New Jersey Devils next week at home, and there’s a chance they might see the Devils without the leading scorer in the NHL.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche sent Riley Tufte to the AHL after being happy with his performance on Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues. After his game on Friday night for the Eagles, they might have him on the first flight to Vegas to meet the NHL team.

All that and more in this Saturday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

It’s pretty rare to see Russian players come over to play in the NAHL and USHL, but Ivan Prosvetov did exactly that, and explained exactly why he had to.

The matchup on Saturday night is about as big a test as you can get early in the season, as the Avalanche are in Vegas to take on the Golden Knights. Vegas has not lost in regulation yet this season.

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Unstoppable Tufte

On Thursday, Jared Bednar said there’s a possibility they bring Riley Tufte back up to the NHL as soon as Saturday. After what he did on Friday, they might have to.

Tufte went back to the Colorado Eagles and scored not one, not two, but three more goals, giving him nine on the year in just seven games. Sure, the hat trick goal below is pretty lucky, but when you’re hot, you’re hot.

Make that 9 GOALS in 7 games. A Hattie for Tufte🥳 pic.twitter.com/eOn1czYxwH

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) November 4, 2023

I guess we’ll find out on Saturday morning if the Avalanche put Tufte on the first flight to Vegas after the game.

Around The NHL

The Avalanche might take advantage of this on Tuesday, depending on the severity, but it’s never good for the league (or fans) if one of the best players in the NHL goes down with an injury.

Jack Hughes tumbled into the boards on Friday night against the Blues, and left the game with an upper-body injury. They’ll need a day or two to determine the severity of the injury, but it didn’t look great.

Jack Hughes has gone to the @NJDevils dressing room after crashing into the boards earlier in the period. pic.twitter.com/2fejhyUmx2

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 4, 2023

ESPN released their power rankings for the NHL, and yes, the Avalanche are still in the top five.

National Hockey Now

He’s happy to be back in San Jose, but maybe that’s because Erik Karlsson knows just how bad they are, and his Pittsburgh Penguins need a win.

Charlie McAvoy is trying to get his suspension reduced, but I have a feeling that’s not going to happen.