Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche

2nd West
 | 31-9-4
  • Goals For
    158 GF
  • Goals Against
    102 GA
  • Power Play %
    23.5 PP%
  • Penalty Kill %
    82.6 PK%
  • Penalty Mins
    411 PIM
  • The Canadian Press

    Blues to host MacKinnon and the Avalanche

    Colorado Avalanche (31-9-4, second in the West Division) vs. St. Louis Blues (19-19-6, fifth in the West Division) St. Louis; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Blues +131, Avalanche -160 BOTTOM LINE: Nathan MacKinnon and Colorado hit the ice against St. Louis. He ranks seventh in the in the league with 56 points, scoring 17 goals and totalling 39 assists. The Blues are 19-19-6 in division games. St. Louis has given up 34 power-play goals, killing 75.9% of opponent chances. The Avalanche are 31-9-4 against the rest of their division. Colorado averages 10 points per game to lead the NHL, recording 3.6 goals and 6.4 assists per game. The teams meet for the second game in a row. TOP PERFORMERS: David Perron leads the Blues with 42 points, scoring 13 goals and adding 29 assists. Vince Dunn has 8 points over the last 10 games for St. Louis. MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 39 total assists and has 56 points. Gabriel Landeskog has 13 points over the last 10 games for Colorado. LAST 10 GAMES: Blues: 3-6-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 5.2 assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.6 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .913 save percentage. Avalanche: 9-1-0, averaging four goals, 7.2 assists, 5.8 penalties and 14.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .907 save percentage. INJURIES: Blues: Carl Gunnarsson: out for season (lower body), Oskar Sundqvist: out for season (knee), Robert Thomas: out (upper body). Avalanche: Matt Calvert: out (undisclosed), Dennis Gilbert: out (face), Philipp Grubauer: day to day (health protocols), Joonas Donskoi: day to day (covid-19), Mikko Rantanen: out (covid-19). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press

  • Burakovsky scores 2, Avs beat Blues to clinch playoff berth
    The Canadian Press

    Burakovsky scores 2, Avs beat Blues to clinch playoff berth

    ST. LOUIS — Andre Burakovsky scored twice and Brandon Saad and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare added goals as the Colorado Avalanche clinched a playoff berth with a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Colorado improved to 18-1-2 in its last 21 games. The Avalanche are 8-1-0 in April after finishing a league-best 12-2-3 in March, setting franchise records for wins and points in a month. The Avalanche are 5-1-0 against the Blues this season, with a 20-11 scoring margin. The Avalanche returned to the ice for the first time since April 14, when they beat the Blues 4-3. They had three games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. Since March 5, the Blues have posted a 5-11-4 record. The fifth-place Blues are one point behind the Coyotes for the final playoff spot in the West Division. Arizona has played three more games. Colorado goalie Devan Dubnyk recorded 23 saves. Dubnyk arrived in a trade with the San Jose Sharks before the NHL deadline. Dubnyk has won three of his last four starts against the Blues, dating to his time with the Sharks. Jaden Schwartz scored both goals for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington had 25 saves. Burakovsky gave Colorado a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 6:45 of the second period. After the puck bounced off the boards, Burakovsky tapped in the puck past Binnington, Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon each assisted. MacKinnon extended his point streak to 12 games (7 goals, 12 assists) and has the longest active streak in the NHL. Burakovsky added his second goal, the eventual winner, at 11:29 of the third period, scoring from the right faceoff circle. The Blues cut the lead to 3-2 when Schwartz scored at 13:43. The Avalanche added an empty net goal by Bellemare at 18:29. Each team scored in the first period. The Blues took a 1-0 on a power-play goal by Schwartz at 3:18. Schwartz one-timed the puck by Dubnyk for his first goal in 18 games. A turnover by Zach Sanford that Colorado cashed in at 19:28 tied the game 1-1. Saad got a pass in the slot while standing alone and scored on a backhand shot from in front. BACK ON THE ICE G Philipp Grubauer, RW Joonas Donskoi, who has 15 goals, and RW Mikko Rantanen, who ranks second in the NHL with 26 goals, are on the COVID-19 protocol list. D Bowen Byram has exited protocol and rejoined the club. INJURIES St. Louis F Robert Thomas (upper-body injury) remained out and has missed four games since he got hurt April 9 against Minnesota. He did take part in the morning skate and is expected to play Saturday. MILESTONE Jared Bednar coached his 360th game with Avalanche, passing Bob Hartley for most in Colorado history. He is second to Quebec’s Michel Bergeron (634) in franchise history. AVALANCHE DEBUT After being reacquired by Colorado on April 9, D Patrik Nemeth made his season debut with the Avalanche. Nemeth missed the team’s past three contests while recovering from a minor upper-body injury. Colorado sent its fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft to the Red Wings for Nemeth before the trade deadline. ROSTER MOVE Colorado D Conor Timmins (recalled from AHL) returned to the active roster. He had been sent down April 15. WHAT’S NEXT The Avalanche and Blues meet again Saturday afternoon. ___ More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL://apnews.com/hub/NHL Warren Mayes, The Associated Press