Game 64 Preview: St. Louis Blues (42-14-6, 90 points) vs. Colorado Avalanche (41-17-5, 87 points)
By Andrew Dill
Nov 27, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) and goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) defend the goal from St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (9) during the first period at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Avalanche (41-17-5, 87 points) are rolling of late, winners of four-straight after a 3-2 overtime win over the longtime rival Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Now they set to take on division rival St. Louis Blues at a sold-out Pepsi Center Saturday afternoon. The Blues currently sit atop the Central Division at 90 points while the Avalanche are third with 87.
What: NHL Preview: vs.
When: Saturday, March 8th
Where: Pepsi Center
Time: 3:00 PM ET, 1:00 PM MT
TV: Altitude Sports
This is the third meeting between the two division rivals as the St. Louis Blues currently own the season series, 2-0. In the most recent meeting dating back to Nov. 27th, St. Louis defeated Colorado in Denver 4-1. David Backes would be the number one star of the game, collecting a goal and an assist while Alexander Steen was hot, scoring his 20th goal in St. Louis’s 24th game. Patrick Bordeleau would score the Avalanche’s lone goal in defeat.
Nathan MacKinnon has been red-hot of late for the Avs, recording a point in 13 consecutive games which would pass Wayne Gretzky‘s 12-game streak which happened during the 1979-80’ season. On the streak, MacKinnon has recorded 5 goals to go with 13 assists.
Ryan Miller was acquired before the NHL’s Trade Deadline to bolster the Blues goaltending position. Miller has gone 4-0-0 since returning from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, while going 3-0-0 for the St. Louis Blues.
Here is what forward Matt Duchene said about the Avalanche moving forward via NHL.com:
"“We’re not digging our heels in and coasting to the playoffs at this point,” forward Matt Duchene said in the Denver Post. “We have our foot down on the gas and we’re pressing forward. We’re not the old Avs anymore. We’re not that team we’ve been the last four years that tries not to lose. We’re the team that always tries to win and goes for it no matter what. It’s so fun right now. We’re looking around this room and we realize we have something special. So we just have to keep it going.”"
Projected Starting Goaltenders:
St. Louis Blues: Ryan Miller: 18-22-3, 2.64 GAA, .923% save percentage.
Colorado Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov: 31-11-5, 2.47 GAA, .925% save percentage.