Game Preview: Colorado Avalanche Start Their Road Trip Against the Buffalo Sabres

The Colorado Avalanche hit the road on Monday following their first practice since their loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Their road trip takes them to a couple of stops along the northeastern seaboard, to North Carolina, and a quick cross-country flight to Vancouver before they return home to Denver.

Their first stop is in New York, where they’ll play the Buffalo Sabres in their first meeting of the season. The Sabres sit just two spots below the Avalanche in the league standings at 20th. Two points are all that separates these two teams in the standings, so tonight’s game could be just the game the Avalanche need to put themselves in an early playoff spot.

Casey Mittelstadt’s Return to Buffalo

Colorado Avalanche forward Casey Mittelstadt returns to Buffalo tonight – his first time hitting the ice at KeyBank Center as a member of the visiting team. The Avalanche played their series against the Avalanche before 2024, and seeing as the trade deadline wasn’t until March 8th that season, Mittelstadt didn’t see any action against his former team.

Mittelstadt was part of a trade that broke the day before last season’s trade deadline, a transaction that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Queen City. He was drafted 8th overall by Buffalo and spent close to 7 years with the Sabres before he was dealt to Colorado.

After his contract expired at the end of last season, Mittelstadt signed a three-year contract to stay with the Avalanche through 2027, earning $5.75M a year.

He had a noteworthy start to the season with 13 points in the first 10 games, six of which were goals. However, that momentum has dropped a bit. His last points come from Colorado’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he had a goal and an assist.

He mentioned after Monday’s practice that he knows this isn’t his best hockey, but he’s been trying to make better plays and improve his game.

“It’s a long season. I think you get caught in stretches like this, it feels like it lasts the whole year, but you look back at it at the end of the year and it’s usually about 8 or 10 games … I definitely expect a lot more out of myself than what it’s been the last little bit here. I’ve been through stretches like this before, though, and gotten through them. Just gotta keep working hard and keep getting better, that’s how you get through.”

Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar also had a few words on the forward’s performance recently:

“I think he’s in a little bit of a slump, if you can call it that, right now, but he did have a great start to the season … I think he’s probably a little frustrated in his game, but for us, to have a guy that can play in that 2-hole and play in all situations and help us create offense with some of the high-end wingers that we’ve got, I think is really important. His position – his linemates – they’ve been the most inconsistent out of any line we’ve had this year because of the injuries, so I know that’s difficult, but he’s got to keep plugging away.

He added as a fun little end to the quote that maybe a return to his former team will help spark the forward’s game. “It’s always a little added incentive when you’re going back to [play] your original team.”

Injury Updates

Bednar was also able to give a few injury updates following Monday’s practice. Here’s the latest on Colorado’s Injury list:

Player	Status
Ross Colton	Still on IR. Skating in a red no-contact jersey. Traveling with the team, could play by the end of the trip,
Oliver Kylington	Was day-to-day following game vs. Edmonton. Now week-to-week
Jonathan Drouin	Week-to-Week. Out with upper-body injury.
Josh Manson	Week-to-Week. Out with upper-body injury.
Miles Wood	Month-to-Month. Injury undisclosed.
Gabriel Landeskog	Lower-body. Out since beginning of 2022 season, return still TBD.

Related: Avalanche Provide Injury Updates On Multiple Players; Key Winger Could Return Soon

Tonight’s Matchup

Alexandar Georgiev will start in net for the Avalanche, facing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the Sabres on the other side of the ice.

Though defenseman Keaton Middleton was called up from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) on Monday morning and is traveling with the team, he will be a healthy scratch tonight. As far as team updates go, it looks like Ross Colton will not play tonight, though he could return to the lineup by the end of the trip.