The Colorado Avalanche wrap up their road trip through Canada tonight with a matchup against the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Center. Colorado enters the contest with an 11-6-3 record, while Montréal stands at 12-3-4. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 P.M. MST / 7:00 P.M. EST, with local television coverage on ALT2, ALT+, and KTVD, and national coverage on ESPN+, NHL Center Ice, SN+, TVAS, and TVAS+.
Colorado Avalanche Recent Form and Injuries
The Avalanche arrive in Montréal following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. After falling into a 2-0 hole in the opening period, Artturi Lehkonen sparked the comeback with his team-leading fourteenth goal of the season on the power play in the second period. Parker Kelly then netted a shorthanded goal—the team’s first of the campaign—early in the third period to equalize, before Gabe Landeskog gave Colorado a lead with another power play marker with under ten minutes remaining in regulation.
Ottawa’s Drake Batherson leveled the score late in the third period, and Shane Pinto secured the extra point for the Senators in overtime following a turnover by Kelly. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood turned aside twenty-two of twenty-four shots. The cost of the game extended beyond the scoreboard for Colorado, as star center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar both suffered injuries. MacKinnon took a cross-check from Ottawa’s Artem Zub late in the second period and did not return, while Makar also exited during the middle frame.
Head coach Jared Bednar revealed that Makar will miss two weeks and MacKinnon will be sidelined for a month. To help fill the void, Gavin Brindley was recalled from Loveland, defenseman Alex Gagne is set to make his NHL debut, and veteran Brent Burns will skate in his 1,600th career game. Mackenzie Blackwood is projected to start in goal.
Reflecting on his team’s resilience after losing their top players, head coach Jared Bednar stated, “I liked our effort all around. It’s a good hockey team we played. If you’re running without a couple of horses, you know, for half the game, so, pretty gutsy effort from our group. I’ll take it. I mean, we weren’t perfect. We made some mistakes; they cost us, but all in all, I’m pretty happy with what we did. It’s a big point.”
Montréal Canadiens Overview and Roster Updates
Montréal is looking to build on last season’s deep playoff run that ended in the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Kent Hughes was active during the offseason, inking right wing Ivan Demidov to an eight-year, $73.2 million contract extension and goaltender Jakub Dobeš to a three-year, $16 million-plus deal on the opening days of free agency in July. Additional signings followed in September, including a one-year, $5.4 million contract for left wing Chris Kreider, a four-year, $16.8 million agreement for Zachary Bolduc, and a four-year, $22.2 million extension for former Avalanche forward Alex Newhook.
The Canadiens currently share the Atlantic Division lead with Tampa Bay, coming off a 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday. However, injuries are mounting for the squad. Demidov has been sidelined for over a month with a fractured ankle, and goaltender Sam Montembeault has been out since October 31 with a lower-body injury. Furthermore, the organization announced that Kreider will miss six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury, while defenseman Mike Matheson is a game-time decision.
Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson pace all Montréal skaters with 18 points each. Caufield leads the team with 12 goals, while Hutson contributes a team-high 10 assists. Goaltender Jacob Fowler ranks third in the league with nine victories, and Arber Xhekaj leads the club with 32 penalty minutes. Tonight’s game initiates a demanding stretch of five games in seven days for Montréal before they embark on a three-game road trip.
Tonight’s matchup marks the first of two meetings between the clubs this season, with the final game of the series scheduled for November 25 at Ball Arena.
