Avalanche Pregame Notes
Avalanche Game 39 vs Buffalo Sabres, More Injury Subs: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch
The Colorado Avalanche (23-15-0) continue their homestand at Ball Arena against the lowly Buffalo Sabres (14-20-4), where they’ll welcome back Stanley Cup champion Bowen Byram. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. MT.
READ MORE: Mackenzie Blackwood Wowed by the Team Defense Against Winnipeg
The Avalanche are riding a five-game winning streak following their most impressive game yet, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at home. The Jets were on the back end of a back-to-back and had Eric Comrie in goal, but Colorado made sure to take advantage of that. Good news: Casey Mittelstadt stepped up and scored his first goal in 19 games in the third period. Bad news: The Avalanche lost Valeri Nichushkin to a lower-body injury earlier in that game. Nichushkin is expected to miss roughly 7-10 days, according to head coach Jared Bednar.
Without Nichushkin, Mittelstadt slides back into the top six, likely on the second line with Jonathan Drouin and Ross Colton. That’s how the Avs ended Tuesday’s game. Artturi Lehkonen remains on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The latter two were split apart for several games at even strength before reuniting after Nichushkin was hurt.
If the Avs defeat Buffalo, they’ll get to six straight wins for the first time this season. They’ll also have two chances to get to 25 wins at the halfway point of the season. Which, given how the season started, would be an impressive feat in itself.
Scott Wedgewood gets the start in goal after watching Mackenzie Blackwood win each of Colorado’s last three games. Wedgewood previously played on Dec. 20 against the Anaheim Ducks where he made 30 saves in a 4-2 triumph. That was Wedgewood’s only start in seven games since Blackwood made his Avalanche debut.
In the first meeting between the two clubs, Wedgewood entered the game in relief of Alexandar Georgiev and was perfect the rest of the way as Colorado erased a 4-0 deficit to win 5-4 in regulation. That was Wedgewood’s Avalanche debut.
The Sabres enter the matchup 3-7-0 in their last 10 games. They won three straight games following an epically bad 13-game winless streak. Buffalo’s winning streak was snapped in its last game, falling 4-2 to the Dallas Stars on New Year’s Eve. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to get the nod in goal. He’s started each of the last four games and is 11-12-3 in 27 games.
Byram returns to Ball Arena for the first time since being traded in a massive one-for-one trade for Mittelstast last March. He was drafted No. 4 overall by the Avs in 2019 and was a key piece of their Stanley Cup-winning roster in 2022. Despite the Sabres’ struggles, Byram has had a good season, posting four goals and 17 assists in 38 games. He’s a +5 and is playing a career-high 23:32 per game on the top pair alongside captain Rasmus Dahlin.
READ MORE: Mittelstadt Steps Up After Nichushkin’s Injury, Scores Game-Winning Goal
Season Series
- Dec. 3 at Buffalo Sabres (W, 5-4)
- Jan. 2 vs Buffalo Sabres
Avalanche Injuries
- Valeri Nichushkin (lower-body, day-to-day)
- Ivan Ivan (upper-body, week-to-week)
- Oliver Kylington (upper body, IR)
- Miles Wood (upper body, LTIR)
- Gabriel Landeskog (knee, no timetable)
Projected Avalanche Lines (subject to change)
Artturi Lehkonen โ Nathan MacKinnon โ Mikko Rantanen
Jonathan Drouin โ Casey Mittelstadt โ Ross Colton
Joel Kiviranta โ Parker Kelly โ Logan OโConnor
Jere Innala โ Juuso Parssinen โ Oskar Olausson
Devon Toews โ Cale Makar
Samuel Girard โ Josh Manson
Keaton Middleton โ Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Projected Starters (subject to change)
- Confirmed: Scott Wedgewood (COL)
- Unconfirmed: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF)
Upcoming Milestones
- Jonathan Drouin โ needs 2 goals for 100
- Mikko Rantanen โ needs 2 PPG for 100
- Cale Makar โ needs 3 goals for 100
- Nathan MacKinnon โ needs 4 PPG for 100
- Casey Mittelstadt โ needs 5 games for 400
- Devon Toews โ needs 6 assists for 200
- Logan OโConnor โ needs 9 points for 100
How to Watch
- TV: Altitude TV
- Radio: 92.5 FM
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Considering middleton got a 2 year extension, does this mean they will trade ludvig.
Definitely seems to be a distant no. 8 so not sure they would even get anything, would guess they put him back on waivers if they need the roster spot
Ludvig was claimed off waivers and doesn’t have trade value unless he was a throw-in to a bigger deal so why focus on moving him? Besides, teams are always looking to add depth D for the playoffs and he might be that 8th or 9th D. He’s currently playing with the Eagles on a conditioning assignment so let him get more games under his belt before you can even consider his value.
Mitts playing C on the fourth line was always going to be a one or two game move at most regardless of Nuk being out (i.e., Nuk plays RW and Mitts C). The reality is that Mitts game is geared to passing and not shooting which obviously the coaching staff wants him to change. This was all about playing some head games with Mitts in hopes of breaking a mental block in his game development. I agree that Mitts should and must shoot more often and play a bit more in front of the net but the idea that his… Read more »