Avalanche Game 42 vs Chicago Blackhawks: Drouin Out, Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche (25-15-1, 51 points) face the NHL’s last-place team, the Chicago Blackhawks (13-25-2, 28 points), at the United Center on Wednesday night. The puck is scheduled to drop at 5:37 p.m. MT and will be nationally televised on TNT and locally on Altitude 2.

The big news of the matchup is Jonathan Drouin’s absence. Head coach Jared Bednar told the Denver Post’s Corey Masisak that the 29-year-old forward would not play. The team will roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, and goaltender Trent Miner will make his first NHL start between the pipes.

Bednar talked briefly about his maintenance day yesterday.

“It’s not an injury that you need to manage — when he's good, he’s good … I mean, if he can play, he can play. If he can’t, he can't … his injury, there’s no risk of it getting worse.” https://t.co/ePffM7xXZ8

— Colleen Flynn (@CHNFlynn) January 8, 2025

As I pointed out in my tweet, Bednar spoke a little about how Drouin is maintaining his health and conditioning around his lingering injury, but he did not elaborate any further on it.

The Avalanche beat the reigning Stanely Cup Champion Florida Panthers 3-1 at Ball Arena on Monday night and look to keep the winning momentum going.

Colorado has only lost one in its last seven while Chicago has only won one in the same stint. Most recently, the Blackhawks lost 6-2 to the New York Rangers on Sunday but shouldn’t be taken as an easy win.

“We got to be on our toes right away and play like it’s very important game at this time of the year,” Mikko Rantanen said.

The matchup with the Blackhawks is the first of a back-to-back for the Avs who have three games in four days on the road.

Read More: Why Wins are More Important on Avs 3-Game Road Trip

Season Series

• Oct. 28 vs. Chicago (L, 5-2)
• Jan. 8 at Chicago
• March 10 vs. Chicago
• April 2 at Chicago

Avalanche Injuries

• Jonathan Drouin (upper body, day-to-day)
• Scott Wedgewood (lower body, week-to-week)
• 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 — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta — Parker Kelly — Logan O’Connor
Tye Felhaber — Juuso Parssinen — Jere Innala
Ross Colton — Casey Mittelstadt

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

Trent Miner
Mackenzie Blackwood

Projected Starters (subject to change)

• Confirmed: Trent Miner (COL)
• Unconfirmed: Petr Mrazek (CHI)

Upcoming Milestones

• Cale Makar — needs 1 goal for 100
• Nathan MacKinnon — needs 4 PPG for 100
• Casey Mittelstadt — needs 3 games for 400
• Devon Toews — needs 3 assists for 200