Avalanche Game 16 vs Nashville Predators, Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche (7-8-0) continue their homestand against the surprisingly last place in the Western Conference, Nashville Predators (5-9-1). Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT.

The Avs have started to string together a handful of solid games in a row and look to get back to .500 with a victory on Monday. Since Artturi Lehkonen returned to the lineup, Colorado has scored 12 goals in three games despite getting shutout in one of them. It started with a 6-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken before falling 1-0 to the NHL’s best Winnipeg Jets. In that game, the Avalanche were far and away the better team but couldn’t beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck. They followed that performance with a come-from-behind 6-4 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes, ending their eight-game winning streak.

Alexandar Georgiev gets the nod in goal for the third straight game. He was exceptional against Winnipeg and was great in the first period against Carolina where Colorado was outplayed. Georgiev is looking for his first winning streak of the season.

Nashville has been a surprisingly slow team to start the season. After winning the offseason with the additions of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and signing Brady Skjei to replace the departed Ryan McDonagh, the Predators were supposed to be one of the NHL’s must-watch teams. Instead, they’re dealing with chemistry issues, which is understandable, but they may have overplayed their winger additions without focusing enough on obtaining another top-six center to help Ryan O’Reilly.

Colton Sissons, who is currently their No. 2 center, has a goal and zero assists in 14 games. Tommy Novak was slotted in that spot to start the year but had just four points in 12 games before suffering an upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day.

One of Nashville’s five wins came against the Avs — a 5-2 victory at Bridgestone Arena. That was the last game before Colorado welcomed back Lehkonen, who has helped the top line elevate their play at five-on-five and pushed other depth forwards further down the lineup.

READ MORE: Notebook: Do The Avalanche Finally Have Exciting Prospects Again?

Season Series

• Nov. 2 at Nashville Predators (L 5-2)
• Nov.11 vs Nashville Predators
• Dec. 14 vs Nashville Predators
• Feb. 22 at Nashville Predators

Avalanche Injuries

• Miles Wood (upper body, IR)
• Ross Colton (foot, 6-8 weeks)
• Jonathan Drouin (upper body, day-to-day)
• Gabriel Landeskog (knee, no timetable)
• Valeri Nichushkin (suspended, Returns Nov. 15)

Projected Avalanche Lines (subject to change)

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta— Casey Mittelstadt — Logan O’Connor
Ivan Ivan – Parker Kelly – Nikolai Kovalenko
Nikita Prishchepov — T.J. Tynan — Chris Wagner

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Calvin de Haan — Sam Malinski

Alexandar Georgiev
Justus Annunen

READ MORE: What Will Change With Valeri Nichushkin in Avs Lineup (+)

Projected Starters (subject to change)

• Confirmed: Alexandar Georgiev (COL)
• Unconfirmed: Juuse Saros (CAR)

Upcoming Milestones

• Mikko Rantanen – needs 3 power-play goals for 100
• Nathan MacKinnon — needs 5 power-play goals for 100
• Devon Toews — needs 5 assists for 200
• Josh Manson — needs 8 games for 600
• Cale Makar — needs 8 goals for 100

How to Watch