The Colorado Avalanche are officially back on the road, starting with a late-night match against the Vancouver Canucks at Rodgers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. This contest is Cale Makar’s 10th against Quinn Hughes’ Canucks, and in the nine games so far both have shown, but Cale has been dominant. He has three goals and 11 assists against the Canucks in his young career.

Why do I talk so much about just two players? Public opinion has caused some outrage, similar to last year’s Kuch vs. MacK drama.

Tonight it’s about wins and losses for both, even if most people want to talk about the young defenders. The Avs desperately want two more points to advance within the division. The same goes for Vancouver, which is in a strikingly similar position in the table. Who will win the duel and which club can secure two more points?

Colorado avalanche

The Avalanche no longer carry the burden of goaltending, and that’s a problem early in the season. However, this also means that they are no longer due to netminding (or so it seems). This means the Avalanche should return to the “never lose two in a row” mindset and mantra that we have heard from Nathan MacKinnon in the past. The Avalanche could put the NHL on notice if they pick up some wins and emerge as real contenders again.

Speaking of Nathan MacKinnon, he was named the second NHL Star of the Month this morning. He currently leads the NHL in points, closely followed by his linemate Mikko Rantanen, who has the third-most points in the league. Not too shabby!

Planned lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Ross Colton — Casey Mittelstadt — Valery Nichushkin
Joel Kiviranta — Parker Kelly — Logan O’Connor
Givani Smith — Ivan Ivan — Chris Wagner

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Sam Malinski
Keaton Middleton — Calvin de Haan

Vancouver Canucks

I said beforehand that Vancouver and Colorado are in a similar situation in terms of the standings. To further clarify the context, this is particularly true within their respective departments. Vancouver trails the Pacific-leading Vegas Golden Knights by eight points with two games remaining. That’s the kind of gap that can only be filled by a significant winning streak or two. That’s easier said than done for the Canucks, who haven’t won consecutive games since late November. They narrowly lost 5-1 to Boston last Saturday, so a rebound would be in keeping with the trend.

Planned lineup:

Conor Garland — JT Miller — Brock Boeser
Jake DeBrusk — Elias Pettersson — Max Sasson
Danton Heinen — Pius Suter — Pine Sherwood
Dakota Joshua — Teddy Blueger — Nils Hoglander

Quinn Hughes — Noah Juulsen
Carson Soucy — Tyler Myers
Derek Forbort — Mark Friedman

goalkeeper

Tonight will likely be Thatcher Demko versus Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood looked outstanding in his Avalanche debut against the Nashville Predators. He didn’t allow a hit until the six-minute mark of the final frame, stopping 37 shots on 39 shots. That’s the type of attitude that will make Colorado difficult to beat night after night, but consistency is key.