The Colorado Avalanche are on the road and on the West Coast for a showdown with the San Jose Sharks. This is the first round of SJS vs. COL since the trade move that saw Nikolai Kovalenko and Georgeiv (with picks) play for Givani Smith and new starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Georgiev could be looking to get revenge on the team that dealt him. Will Kovelnko score for the Avs? Will Colorado show why they made the move?
Colorado avalanche
The Avalanche showed quite a bit of weakness in their last outing against the Vancouver Canucks, with their power play issues clearly evident. Colorado has a record of 0/14 in their last five games, and that lack of success cannot continue, especially now that the Avalanche have an improved goaltending tandem.
Maybe we can see some adjustments to the power play to take the pressure off MacKinnon and Makar. Making MacKinnon/Rantanen wait for the cross-ice one-timer while Makar shoots for accuracy and deflections from the point doesn’t work. The low-to-high bumper game is the only part of the current power play strategy that has remained somewhat dangerous.
Planned lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Ross Colton — Casey Mittelstadt — Valery Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta — Parker Kelly — Logan O’Connor
Tye Felhaber — Ivan Ivan — Chris Wagner
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Sam Malinski
Keaton Middleton — Calvin de Haan
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks are still in rebuilding mode, but they’re starting to connect some dots that will make them competitive regardless of their record. Kovalenko and Celebrini have gotten along well since trading Tyler Toffoli in the second row. Kovalenko has five points and Celebrini seven in the four games since his move.
Planned lineup:
Barclay Goodrow — Mikael Granlund — Fabian Zetterlund
Nikolai Kovalenko — Macklin Celebrini — Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund — Alex Wennberg — Will Smith
Carl Grundstrom — Nico Storm — Luke Kunin
Jake Walman — Cody Ceci
Mario Ferraro — Timothy Liljegren
Shakir Mukhamadullin — Jan Rutta
goalkeeper
Mackenzie Blackwood will play against the Sharks, but we have not yet confirmed who will be in net for San Jose. It remains to be seen whether the Sharks will protect Georgiev from a possible loss or allow him to show the Avs what they left behind.
