Avalanche vs. Stars, Game 39: Lines, Starting Goalies & How To Watch

The last time the Avalanche were in Dallas to take on the Stars, they rallied from a 3-0 deficit to come back and win by a score of 6-3. Minus the whole “give up three early goals” part, I think the Avalanche would take that final score again.

As of Jan. 4, the Avalanche sit three points ahead of the Stars in the standings, but have played two additional games. A win on Thursday night would extend that lead to five points, which would be huge given the Stars have a few games in hand. There is one big difference between the teams that could come in handy at the end of the season for Colorado.

The Stars have won a lot of games in overtime or a shootout, while the Avalanche have mostly taken care of business in regulation. The Avalanche have 22 regulation wins, while the Stars have just 15. That’s the first tiebreaker at the end of the season in the standings, so it’s something to keep in mind if these teams end up tied in points.

Leading the way for the Avalanche right now are Nathan MacKinnon and former Stars forward Valeri Nichushkin. Games in Dallas seem to mean a little more for Nichushkin, who started his career on the Stars and was bought out by them back in 2019. He scored the game-tying goal in the third period of the last matchup, and had a little extra pep in his step after the goal.

Expect Alexandar Georgiev to get the start in net for the Avalanche against the Stars. He had a really tough start against the Islanders, but Jared Bednar kept him in the net and let him work through his issues.

“As a veteran player, he’s been through bad games before,” Bednar said after practice on Thursday. “He’ll watch video and get clear on some things, if there’s anything tactically he can do in his game to get better…I have no doubt he’ll bounce back.”

Ryan Johansen missed practice yesterday because he was under the weather, and Miles Wood missed morning skate today, but both are expected to play.

The Stars have been without their starting goaltender for a few weeks, but it doesn’t sound like Jake Oettinger will return against the Avalanche. His status has changed from “week-to-week” to “day-to-day,” but he sounds like he’s still a few days away from returning. Scott Wedgewood has carried the load in net, but he’s obviously not Oettinger.

Former Avalanche forward Matt Duchene has proven to be one heck of an addition to the Stars. He’s got 32 points in 35 games, and leads the team with six game-winning goals. As is tradition, you should already tally one goal for the Stars, because you know Joe Pavelski will likely get one against Colorado.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Jonathan Drouin – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen

Miles Wood – Ryan Johansen – Valeri Nichushkin

Ben Meyers – Ross Colton – Logan O’Connor

Andrew Cogliano – Fredrik Olofsson – Joel Kiviranta

Defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Bowen Byram –  Josh Manson

Jack Johnson – Sam Girard

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Expected Dallas Stars Lineup

Robertson – Hintz – Pavelski

Marchment – Duchene – Seguin

Benn – Johnston – Dadonov

Steel – Dellandrea – Smith

Defense:

Suter – Heiskanen

Lindell – Hakanpaa

Harley – Lundkvist

Goalies:

Wedgewood

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 24.5%, 7th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 83.2%, 8th in NHL

Dallas Stars Power Play: 22.1%, 14th in NHL

Dallas Stars Penalty Kill: 85.3%, 3rd in NHL

How to Watch

TV: Altitude TV, ESPN+

Radio: AM 950

Game Time: 6:00 PM MST