Game Preview: Hello, Old Friends
Some familiar faces make the trip to Columbus
The Colorado Avalanche come to Columbus today under the leadership of new coach Jared Bednar. Bednar, of course, was head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters last season when they won the Calder Cup. He was hired away by Colorado this summer after the departure of Avalanche legend Patrick Roy.
Coming with Bednar are former Jackets Fedor Tyutin, Rene Bourque, and Fourth Line Legend (tm) Blake Comeau. Expect a video tribute for Tyutin, who played 553 games in a Columbus uniform, second most in franchise history.
Read about: Bednar’s return and Tyutin and Bourque’s return
Over the last month, the Avs are just 4-6. They were hurt by a concussion to Matt Duchene and a leg injury to Gabe Landeskog. The latter will be out tonight, while Duchene participated in the morning skate and is a game-time decision.
Columbus, meanwhile, is coming off a thrilling 3-2 win yesterday afternoon in Washington. That was their fourth straight win. At home, they are riding a franchise record 7 game win streak. This has been the best start to a season in franchise history, and it’s been really fun to watch. Let’s hope this ride continues.
Roster News: SETH JONES IS BACK! Also, it’s not yet confirmed but expect Curtis McElhinney to start in goal.
Projected Lineups
Columbus Blue Jackets
| Brandon Saad | Brandon Dubinsky | Cam Atkinson |
| Scott Hartnell | Alexander Wennberg | Nick Foligno |
| Matt Calvert | William Karlsson | Josh Anderson |
| Boone Jenner | Lukas Sedlak | Sam Gagner |
| Zach Werenski | Seth Jones |
| Ryan Murray | David Savard |
| Markus Nutivaara | Jack Johnson |
| Curtis McElhinney |
| Sergei Bobrovsky |
Colorado Avalanche
| Andreas Martinsen | Nathan MacKinnon | Mikko Rantanen |
| AJ Greer | Carl Soderberg | Matt Duchene |
| Former Blue Jacket Rene Bourque | Mikhail Grigorenko | Former Blue Jacket Fourth Line Superstar Blake Comeau |
| Joe Colborne | John Mitchell | Jerome Iginla |
| Nikita Zadarov | Erik Johnson |
| Patrick Wierchioch | Tyson Barrie |
| Forgotten Former Blue Jacket Francois Beauchemin | Former Blue Jacket Fedor Tyutin |
| Semyon Varlamov |
| Calvin Pickard |