After nearly two weeks on the road, the Colorado Avalanche return home to Ball Arena to take on the Arizona Coyotes. This is the fourth and final regular-season matchup between these two clubs. Arizona has won two of the three previously played games this season, with Colorado winning one.
Colorado Avalanche (33-18-4)
After a disappointing road trip, Colorado is looking to have a get-right game against this Arizona team. The Avs ultimately went 1-4-1 on their road trip, with their most recent game being a 6-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nathan MacKinnon suffered a broken nose during that game but looks to be good to go today.
With Logan O’Connor being day-to-day, Colorado recalled Chris Wagner from the Colorado Eagles ahead of today’s game. Wagner will likely slot in on the fourth line with Andrew Cogliano and Fredrik Olofsson.
We saw Justus Annunen get the start against Tampa Bay on Thursday, so it should be Alexandar Georgiev in net today. Colorado is going to need all hands on deck today to get a win. As desperate as the Avs might be for a win, Arizona is even more desperate. You can’t take this Coyotes team for granted today.
Projected lines
Jonathan Drouin (27) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Mikko Rantanen (96)
Miles Wood (28) – Ross Colton (20) – Artturi Lehkonen (62)
Zach Parise (9) – Ryan Johansen (12) – Joel Kiviranta (94)
Andrew Cogliano (11) – Fredrik Olofsson (22) – Chris Wagner (14)
Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Samuel Girard (49) – Josh Manson (42)
Bowen Byram (4) – Jack Johnson (3)
Alexandar Georgiev (40)
Arizona Coyotes (23-26-4)
The Coyotes come into Denver today arguably more desperate for a win than Colorado. Their most recent game on Friday ended up being a 5-1 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes. That game marked the eighth consecutive loss for the club, their last win coming on January 22 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Connor Ingram is currently out injured, so it should be Karel Vejmelka in net for Arizona today. The Coyotes are also going to be without Liam O’Brien today, as he was placed on injured reserve. With both of these teams looking to bounce back after their recent rough stretches, we should be in for an entertaining matchup today.
Projected lines
Clayton Keller (9) – Barrett Hayton (29) – Nick Schmaltz (8)
Matias Maccelli (63) – Nick Bjugstad (17) – Lawson Crouse (67)
Logan Cooley (92) – Jack McBain (22) – Dylan Guenther (11)
Jason Zucker (16) – Alex Kerfoot (15) – Michael Carcone (53)
J.J. Moser (90) – Sean Durzi (50)
Travis Dermott (33) – Mathew Dumba (24)
Juuso Valimaki (4) – Michael Kesselring (5)
Karel Vejmelka (70)
Broadcast Details
Time: 4:00 p.m. MST
Watch: Altitude, Scripps, ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio FM 92.5
Opponent’s beat: Five For Howling