A Battle with the Blues
Colorado Hosts St. Louis in Divisional Duel
St. Louis Blues (38-29-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (45-25-3)
2:30 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
The Avalanche host the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena for a Central Division showdown. This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season, as the Avs won 5-0 in Denver on January 31st while the Blues won 3-1 on February 23rd in St. Louis.
Latest Result (COL): LAK 0, COL 4
Latest Result (STL): STL 3, NSH 2
Conquered the Kings
The Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 at Ball Arena on Thursday to extend their home win streak to 11 games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 22 saves in his fourth shutout of the season and third with Colorado while Martin Necas scored twice. Jonathan Drouin and Logan O’Connor each scored for the Avs and Cale Makar added two assists. O’Connor opened the scoring at 5:25 of the second period with his ninth goal of the season and 100th-career point via a shot from the slot set up by Makar. Necas doubled Colorado’s lead at 6:57 of the second period with his 25th goal of the season via a backhand shot from the right doorstep. With the Avs on the power play at 15:29 of the middle frame, Necas scored his second goal of the game and 26th of the season via a left-circle one-timer. The Avs scored their second power-play tally of the game at 4:56 of the third period courtesy of Drouin’s right-circle one-timer set up by Nathan MacKinnon’s feed. On that goal, MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 23 games, which is the longest this season. Additionally, Necas’ secondary helper on Drouin’s tally was the 200th assist of his career.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (108) and assists (79).
All Hail Cale
Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (84), goals (27) and assists (57). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists and tied for ninth in points.
A Marty Party
Necas is tied for eighth in the NHL in assists (54).
History
In 121 previous regular-season games against the Blues, the Avalanche are 63-45-13. The teams played in three playoff series, with the Avs winning each of them. In the 2001 Western Conference Final, the Avs won in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup. In the 2021 First Round, the Avalanche won in four games, and in the 2022 Second Round, the Avs won in six games on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.
Two Points in Tennessee
The Blues defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday. In the first period, the Predators took a 2-0 lead after Fedor Svechkov scored at 2:48 and Brady Skjei added a power-play goal at 10:16. Dylan Holloway put the Blues on the board at 10:35 of the second period. In the third period, Cam Fowler tied the game for St. Louis at 11:57 and Holloway gave the Blues a 3-2 lead at 12:19. St. Louis’ win marked their eighth-consecutive victory.
Scoring Against St. Louis
MacKinnon has posted 51 points (17g/34a) in 48 regular-season games against the Blues, in addition to 17 points (9g/8a) in 11 playoff games.
In 24 regular-season games against St. Louis, Makar has registered 27 points (6g/21a) as well as six points (1g/5a) in 11 playoff games.
Necas has posted nine points (5g/4a) in nine games, all in the regular season, against St. Louis.
St. Louis’ Scorers
Robert Thomas leads the Blues in points (66) and assists (47) while being tied for third in goals (19).
Jordan Kyrou leads the Blues in goals (31) while being tied for second in points (62) and tied for fourth in assists (31).
Holloway is second on the Blues in goals (26) and assists (36) while being tied for second in points (62).
A Numbers Game
12
Drouin has posted 12 points (4g/8a) in his last 11 games.
65
MacKinnon leads the league in points at home games with 65 (20g/45a) in 37 contests at Ball Arena, 13 points ahead of Nikita Kucherov, who is in second place with 52.
2.00
The Avalanche are allowing 2.00 goals per game since February 1st, which is the best in the NHL during that span.
Quote That Left a Mark
"I'm very fortunate to be best buddies with Cale. Especially being from Calgary [and having] that connection as well. Anytime you're on the ice with him, good things are gonna happen if you put the puck in his hands. He made a great escape move up top and then his deceptive play downhill there. So it's definitely awesome to have him assist on that one."
-- Logan O’Connor on Cale Makar assisting on the goal that marked his 100th-career point