Friday, March 22, 2024 – 9PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
TV: Bally Sports Ohio – Radio: 97.1 FM
Opponent’s Blog: Mile High Hockey
Columbus Blue Jackets (23-43-12, 8th Metro, 16th East)
at
Colorado Avalanche (44-20-5, 2nd Central, 3rd West)
After getting blown out by the Jets on Sunday and blowing a lead late versus the Red Wings Tuesday, the Jackets start the southwest portion of the road trip with a game against the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs are second in the division and third in the conference, while the Columbus Blue Jackets are neither of those.
Player to Watch
Cale Makar
Makar began the year with his spot as best defenseman in the NHL in question, after “only” putting up 17 goals and 66 points last year. This year, however, he’s restaked his claim, matching last season at 17 goals and already at 75 points through 64 games played. If it weren’t for a pesky Hughes brother in Vancouver, he’d be running away with the Norris. As is, he’s in a three way battle with him and Roman Josi. He’ll likely be looking at the game tonight against a very bad Columbus team as an opportunity to start pulling ahead; it’s up to the Blue Jackets to stop him.
Game Notes
Zach Werenski missed practice Thursday, which is great for my fantasy team going into the playoffs. … The Avs have the best home record in the NHL, going 26-6-0 so far. … They’re also on a seven-game winning streak. … I don’t really know what else to put here. … Here’s the Stats and Music Recommendation.
Stats
| Colorado | Columbus | |
| 3.71 (1) | GPG | 2.90 (24) |
| 2.99 (14) | GAPG | 3.59 (30) |
| 24.9% (7) | PP% | 14.4% (31) |
| 81.7% (8) | PK% | 77.2% (23) |
| 52.1% (7) | 5v5 Shot Attempt % | 48.8% (22) |
| 52.0% (7) | 5v5 Unblocked Shot Attempt % | 48.7% (21) |
| 9.5% (5) | 5v5 Shooting % | 9.0% (10) |
| .912 (19) | 5v5 Save % | .910 (20) |
| Nathan MacKinnon, 42 | G Leader | Boone Jenner, 21 |
| Nathan MacKinnon, 75 | A Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 40 |
| Nathan MacKinnon, 117 | P Leader | Johnny Gaudreau, 51 |
| Josh Manson, 74 | PIM Leader | Erik Gudbranson, 61 |
| 26-6-0 | Home/Road | 10-16-7 |
| 9-1-0 | Last 10 | 4-4-2 |
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Johnny Gaudreau | Boone Jenner | Alex Nylander |
| Alexandre Texier | Cole Sillinger | Kirill Marchenko |
| Mikael Pyyhtia | Dmitri Voronkov | Trey Fix-Wolansky |
| Carson Meyer | Brenden Gaunce | Mathieu Olivier |
| Zach Werenski | Damon Severson |
| Ivan Provorov | Jake Christensen |
| Jake Bean | Erik Gudbranson |
| Daniil Tarasov |
| Elvis Merzlikins |
Colorado Avalanche
| Valeri Nichushkin | Nathan MacKinnon | Mikko Rantanen |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Casey Mittelstadt | Jonathan Drouin |
| Brandon Duhaime | Ross Colton | Zach Parise |
| Miles Wood | Yakov Trenin | Andrew Cogliano |
| Devon Towes | Cale Makar |
| Sam Girard | Josh Manson |
| Jack Johnson | Sean Walker |
| Alexander Georgiev |
| Justus Annunien |
Play Me Out
We’re in Denver. I know a song that references Denver. Here’s “Hotel Rooms” by The Astronomers. They’re a pretty small band (the music video only has 28K views, and it’s from two years ago), but they have a nice alt/pop vibe similar to AJR, especially AJR’s earlier stuff. Enjoy!