A Force of Nature vs. The Monarchs: Game Preview

Denver, Co. – The Colorado Avalanche are riding a three-game win streak at home. Still missing a few top forwards, they’ve discovered a rhythm to find momentum – and the wins – they need.

The Los Angeles Kings travel to Colorado for their first of three matchups this season with the Avalanche. They dropped their last game on Monday with the Calgary Flames in a 3-1 loss. Forward Trevor Moore had his third goal of the season, giving the Kings life during their last game but the rest of the team came up short in the end.

Colorado is Full of Stars

NHL Public Relations announced on Monday that Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon was named last week’s second star of the week, alongside other stars in  Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

MacKinnon currently leads the league in points (30) and assists (23). Last week alone, he had one goal and eight assists, totaling nine points, in three games played.

The Avalanche don’t only have a bright star in Nathan MacKinnon. The other two assistant captains for the team, forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar, are also making a splash in the league’s statistics rankings.

Rantanen is currently among the goal leaders in the NHL. Tied for 12th doesn’t sound like the greatest stat on paper, but it might be when you reconsider that his nine goals this season only trail the top leaders by three. Sam Reinhart (Florida), Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton), and Cole Caufield (Montreal) are all currently tied for first in the league with 12 goals. The Nousiainen, Finland native has earned five of his nine goals in the past four games.

Cale Makar is also among NHL leaders in league statistics. The 2022 Norris Trophy winner is currently tied for third in points with 24, along with Florida’s Reinhart and Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. He is tied for fourth with Washington Capital’s forward Dylan Strome.

A Look Into Tonight’s Matchup

The Avalanche currently hold a point percentage of .500%, putting them at 17th in the league. The LA Kings are 6th in the league, and first in the Pacific Division.

Alexandar Georgiev is slated to start for the 4th game in a row. Colorado Head Coach Jared Bednar has mentioned multiple times that he’s liked Georgiev’s game lately. Earlier this season, Bednar made it clear that Georgiev was the starter for this team. Then later, said that he would play the goalie that will help win the team games.

These quotes from Bednar are mentioned in light of news that goaltender Kappo Kähkönen was placed on waivers on Monday, then claimed before he could clear on Tuesday by the Winnipeg Jets. That leaves Georgiev and Justus Annunen as the tandem for this Avalanche team. Both of these goaltenders have proven through 16 games that they can show up for their team and help to win them games.

In other news, both Miles Wood and Jonathan Drouin were seen at practice at Family Sports Center sporting regular practice jerseys. They were both seen in red no-contact sweaters during morning skate on Monday, so to see this step forward from both of them is great news for the team. Despite this being great news, they will not play tonight.

Valeri Nichushkin is also still skating with the team. Barring any outside circumstances, the Russia native should make his season debut with the team on Friday against the Washington Capitals.

At the other end of the ice, former Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper will start tonight, according to Kings’ head coach Jim Hiller. Kuemper won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022. Bednar was asked about Kuemper and his time with Colorado, and gave a quote that was both humorous and heartfelt following this morning’s team skate:

Kuemper currently holds a 2.65 goals against average and a .903 save percentage. He played in LA’s last game against Calgary and will look to get back in the win column here tonight against Colorado.