Coming off of a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night, the Colorado Avalanche are right back in action this evening, as they wrap up the Eastern Conference portion of their schedule in Columbus against a desperate Blue Jackets squad.
The comeback effort was a welcomed sight for Avs fans last night, but the team that kind of effort came against made for a very frustrating evening. However, seeing the team struggle to generate impactful offense against a bottom feeder is not new over the last week. In the previous three contests, the Avs have only managed to score five goals, and the powerplay has struggled to mesh after a strong evening against the Los Angeles Kings just seven days ago. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the horizon, the Avs need to right the ship while there’s still a little bit of time.
Additionally, the offense may have to find a rhythm while losing one of its key cogs. Jonathan Drouin exited last night’s contest with a lower-body injury following a hit in the first period. Jared Bednar had no update on his status after the game, leaving him up in the air for the second half of this back-to-back.
Colorado Avalanche:
Wednesday night was messy for the Avalanche, but they managed to escape the chaos with two points. In the process, they appeared to lose Jonathan Drouin (and almost Martin Necas) to injury and nearly put up a complete dud of a performance against one of the league’s worst teams. A late third-period comeback helped fuel the Avs to a shootout victory and sets them up much more comfortably for tonight’s contest. They can also clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with a win in any fashion, so there’s a lot of incentive to come out and bring their A-game.
Avs can punch their ticket to the postseason with a win of any kind tonight in Columbus.
— Jesse Montano (@jessemontano_) April 3, 2025
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Avs have been good this season. They boast a record of 6-3-1 on the second game of back-to-back sets and seem not to have issues coming out of the gate flying in these contests. They’ll have one more back-to-back set to close out the season in Southern California.
There may be some adversity on the table, however. Jared Bednar had no update on Drouin following the game last night, leaving his status up in the air for tonight. The injury, suspected to be in the knee/thigh region, followed a hit from Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno. If he’s out of action, the Avs will have to shuffle the deck a bit to try and find a new look in the top six. Expect Ross Colton to get the promotion to the top six should Drouin be out, and Miles Wood to draw into the lineup. Jimmy Vesey is also an option for Bednar.
Mackenzie Blackwood will draw back between the pipes for the Avs tonight, after Scott Wedgewood handled the first half of the back-to-back set last evening. In 33 appearances for the Avs this season, Blackwood has a 21-9-3 record, with a 2.14 goals against average and a .919 save percentage. Blackwood will pick up the second night of the back-to-back set, ensuring he’s in a good flow heading into a very crucial game against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Projected Lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen (62) — Nathan MacKinnon (29) — Jonathan Drouin (27)*Valeri Nichushkin (13) — Brock Nelson (11) — Martin Necas (88)Joel Kiviranta (94) — Charlie Coyle (10) — Ross Colton (20)
Parker Kelly (17) — Jack Drury (18) — Logan O’Connor (25)
Devon Toews (7) — Cale Makar (8)Ryan Lindgren (55) — Sam Malinski (70)
Keaton Middleton (67) — Erik Johnson (6)
Mackenzie Blackwood (39)
Scott Wedgewood (41)
(* = Questionable to play)
Columbus Blue Jackets:
It has been a while since the Avs last squared off with the Blue Jackets. The last time Colorado saw this team was way back in October for the Avs home opener, a game that the Jackets took 6-4. High-scoring affairs are the kind of games Columbus likes to play. The Blue Jackets rank 10th in the NHL in goals for per game (3.23 GFPG) and are bottom five in goals against per game (3.36 GAPG).
Columbus boasts a sneaky talented forward group capable of filling the net, with Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko, and Sean Monahan leading the way. They also have Zach Werenski, who has had an outstanding season from the blueline while finally enjoying a full season of good health.
The issue for the Jackets is that they struggle just as much to keep the puck out of their own net. With these results, they find themselves right in the center of the Eastern Conference wild card race, currently sitting two points outside of the final wild card spot, currently occupied by the Montreal Canadiens. Columbus has a game or two in hand on each of the teams competing for that last playoff spot, so they somewhat control their own destiny. Expect a very desperate and hungry hockey team on home ice tonight.
With every point mattering to this Jackets squad, there has been a heavy reliance on starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to carry the load in net. Expect him to get the nod once again tonight. Merzlikins has had a very odd season statistically. In 49 appearances this season, Merzlikins has a very even 25-19-5 record, with an underwhelming 3.11 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. He’s the best option in Columbus, but Elvis provides a great opportunity for the Avs to get their offense right.
Projected Lineup:
Dmitri Voronkov (10) — Sean Monahan (23) — Kirill Marchenko (86)Boone Jenner (38) — Adam Fantilli (19) — Kent Johnson (91)Cole Sillinger (4) — Justin Danforth (17) — Mathieu Olivier (24)
Zach Aston-Reese (27) — Sean Kuraly (7) — Luke Kunin (11)
Zach Werenski (8) — Dante Fabbro (15)Denton Mateychuk (5) — Ivan Provorov (9)
Jake Christiansen (2) — Jack Johnson (3)
Elvis Merzlikins (90)
Daniil Tarasov (40)
