The Colorado Avalanche hit the road Monday after their first practice since their loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Their road trip takes them to North Carolina with a few stops along the northeast coast and a short cross-country flight to Vancouver before returning to Denver.

Their first stop is New York, where they will play the Buffalo Sabers in their first meeting of the season. The Sabers are just two spots behind the Avalanche in the league standings and are in 20th place. Two points is all that separates these two teams in the standings, so today’s game could be just the game the Avalanche need to secure an early playoff spot.

Casey Mittelstadt’s return to Buffalo

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

Mittelstadt was part of a deal that fell a day before last season’s trade deadline, a transaction that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to the Queen City. He was drafted No. 8 overall by Buffalo and spent nearly seven years with the Sabers before moving to Colorado.

After his contract expired at the end of last season, Mittelstadt signed a three-year deal to remain with the Avalanche through 2027 and earn $5.75 million per year.

He had a remarkable start to the season with 13 points in the first 10 games, six of which were goals. However, this momentum has slowed somewhat. His most recent points came from Colorado’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he scored a goal and an assist.

He mentioned after practice on Monday that he knew this wasn’t his best hockey, but he was trying to make better plays and improve his game.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar also recently commented on the forward’s performance:

“I think he’s in a bit of a crisis right now, if you can call it that, but he’s had a great start to the season… I think he’s probably a little frustrated in his game, but for us I think it’s really important , having a guy who can play in that 2 hole and play in all situations and help us go on offense with some of our quality wingers. His position – his linemates – are really important. I’ve been the most inconsistent. The injuries have kept him out of all the starting rows this year, so I know it’s difficult, but he has to keep going.

As a funny way to end the quote, he added that perhaps a return to his former team will help boost the striker’s game. “It’s always a little extra incentive when you go back to your original team.”

Injury updates

Bednar was also able to provide some injury updates after practice on Monday. Here’s the latest on Colorado’s injury list:

Related: Avalanche Provides Injury Updates for Multiple Players; The key winger could return soon

Today’s matchup

Alexandar Georgiev will start in net for the Avalanche and will face Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Sabers on the other side of the ice.

Although defenseman Keaton Middleton was called up by the Colorado Eagles (AHL) on Monday morning and is traveling with the team, he will be a healthy substitute tonight. As for team updates, it looks like Ross Colton won’t be playing tonight, although he could return to the lineup at the end of the trip.

Where/when to see

Avalanche fans can find tonight’s game on local radio station Altitude, Altitude+ and My20 KTVD. Buffalo fans can find the game on MSGSN.

Puck drop is scheduled for 5:08 p.m. MT/7:08 p.m. ET.

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