The Colorado Avalanche (43-11-9) are back on the road for two games, starting with a matchup against the Seattle Kraken (29-25-9). Puck drop is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. MT.<\/p>\n
Key Stories to Watch<\/p>\n
After exiting in the second period of Tuesday\u2019s loss to Edmonton with an upper-body injury, Ross Colton is out for this game. Following the Oilers game, head coach Jared Bednar said Colton might play in Seattle, but that won\u2019t be the case. It\u2019s likely we\u2019ll see Gavin Brindley get promoted to the top six.<\/p>\n
Rather than call up another forward, the Avs are going to dress seven defenseman, which means Nick Blankenburg is set to make his Avalanche debut.<\/p>\n
Colorado will alternate goalies again, as Scott Wedgewood gets the nod. Wedgewood is 4-0-0 since the Olympic break, having given up just five goals on 102 shots. The Kraken are likely countering with Joey Daccord, who is 0-2 in his career against the Avs with a .862 save percentage.<\/p>\n
The Kraken are one of three Western Conference teams (Vegas and Calgary) that have yet to visit Ball Arena. They won\u2019t play in Colorado until the very last of the regular season calendar for the entire league. The Avs already played in Seattle once and won 5-3.<\/p>\n
The Avs have the second-best record in the West since the Olympics, going 6-2 in eight games. Seattle is on the other end of the standings, with the second-worst record in the conference since the break (2-5-0). The Kraken are also riding a three-game losing streak, all of which were played at home. <\/p>\n
Season Series<\/p>\n
Dec. 16 at Seattle Kraken (W, 5-3)<\/p>\n
March 12 at Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n
April 16 vs Seattle Kraken<\/p>\n
Avalanche Injuries<\/p>\n
Logan O\u2019Connor (undisclosed, indefinitely)<\/p>\n
Artturi Lehkonen (upper body, week-to-week)<\/p>\n
Gabriel Landeskog (lower body, week-to-week)<\/p>\n
Ross Colton (upper body, TBD)<\/p>\n
Projected Avalanche Lines (Subject to Change)<\/p>\n
Nazem Kadri \u2014 Nathan MacKinnon \u2014 Martin Necas
Gavin Brindley \u2014 Brock Nelson \u2014 Valeri Nichushkin
Parker Kelly \u2014 Nicolas Roy \u2014 Joel Kiviranta
Zakhar Bardakov \u2014 Jack Drury <\/p>\n
Devon Toews \u2014 Cale Makar
Josh Manson \u2014 Brent Burns
Brett Kulak \u2014 Sam Malinski
Nick Blankenburg<\/p>\n
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood<\/p>\n
I didn’t have time to look up the rule about automatic suspensions before tweeting what Nathan MacKinnon said to me because Jared Bednar was about to talk. <\/p>\n
Guess the aggregators didn’t have time, either. pic.twitter.com\/5KlGDuflnx<\/a><\/p>\n