Time for a tilt in the Mile High City! The Panthers are in Denver to take on the Avalanche. Will we see Jakub Kindl tonight? Maybe, now that the Pre-Game Skate is not talking him up. We’re jinxes.
The Numbers
[table id=TS02G64 /] [table id=IS02G64 /] [table id=GM02G64 /]* – Stats are courtesy of Corsica.Hockey, War-on-Ice.com, Puckalytics.com and Hockey-Reference.com
Projected Lineups
[table id=PF02G64 /] [table id=PD02G63 /] [table id=PG02G63 /] [table id=OF02G64 /] [table id=OD02G64 /] [table id=OG02G64 /]The Hat Trick
One Away: Jaromir Jagr pulled within two points of Gordie Howe with the game winning goal on Tuesday night. Then, on Wednesday morning, he pulled within one point when the NHL awarded Jagr an assist previously credited to Garrett Wilson from Saturday’s game in Columbus. As a result, we are on the precipce of a great event in NHL history. We will be eagerly awaiting the next point.
Visa Accepted! (For One None Of You): The reason we did not see Jiri Hudler or Teddy Purcell on Sunday afternoon was visa issues, and they could not enter the country to play in Minnesota. Tuesday was not an issue as the game took place in Winnipeg. According to George Richards, Teddy Purcell is expected to play tonight, as his visa issues have been cleared. However, it appears Jiri Hudler will not be joining. That’s disappointing for Hudler, I thought he looked comfortable with Barkov and Jagr, something nice to see with Jonathan Huberdeau out.
However, I am very happy to see Purcell is cleared and ready to go. He also look good rolling with the Bjugstad/Rau line, and he looked even better on the power play. His propensity to shoot got the team moving, and looked to make the unit more effective.
Update: Actually, it turns out the Cats will be without Purcell as well as Hudler, per George Richards. Fudge rockets! The plus here is now we get to see Kyle Rau with Barkov and Jagr. No pressure kid. We also get to see the novelty of Steven Kampfer as your 4th line center. That is certainly odd, I am not sure if that is something Kampfer has done before. But hey, you’ve got to do something when an odd.
Update 2: Per George Richards, visa issues have now apparently been cleared for both Jiri Hudler and Teddy Purcell! Hudler is still out tonight, but Purcell has a small chance of playing tonight. He may or may not arrive on time.
Mile High Race: While the Panthers are in a race for first place, the Avalanche are in a race for their playoff lives. Colorado is currently in a two-team race with Minnesota for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The two teams are tied with 68 points, however Minnesota currently sits in position having played one less game. They are seven points back of 1st Wild Card Nashville, and 8 points ahead of both the Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes. There is a chance one of Vancouver or Arizona could jump up, but I would peg that as small at best.
The Avs, instead, loaded up for the stretch run of the season with one of the bigger names on the trade market: Arizona’s Mikkel Boedker. I previously discussed Boedker prior to the deadline in conjunction with the Panthers. While his scoring numbers have been strong, his underlying numbers are not nearly as strong. His main value is on the power play, where he’s scored most of his points and racked up more playing time this season than any other forward in the NHL. Yes, he’s played more on the power play this season than even Alex Ovechkin.
The Avs also picked up Eric Gelinas, a former teammate of Jonathan Huberdeau in the QMJHL, from the New Jersey Devils. The defenseman was in and out of the Devils defense, and seemed to have lost favor. Colorado’s defense was not impressive to begin with, it remains to be seen what Gelinas can do to rectify that.
Closing Thoughts
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What do you say when the Avalanche lose? Roy Roy.
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