Avalanche at Blues preview: St. Louis looks to extend win streak to four games
By Tom Pepper
The St. Louis Blues ride a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s matchup at home against the Colorado Avalanche. After having Monday’s game at the Minnesota Wild rescheduled to May 12, St. Louis will hit the ice fresh after a three-day break. Colorado, on the other hand, will suit up for their third game in four days. A win over the top-ranked team in the NHL would give the Blues a three-point lead over the Arizona Coyotes for the final playoff spot in the West Division with two games in hand.
The Avalanche enter the game with an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games and are 3-1-0 against the Blues this season. Despite Colorado’s impressive numbers, don’t expect St. Louis to be a pushover. Over its past three games, the Blues have outscored West Division powerhouse teams, the Vegas Golden Knights and Wild, by a score of 15-4. The team’s latest hot streak includes a 9-1 bloodletting of Minnesota last Friday and even comes with its own slogan: “We’re coming,” as coined by goaltender Jordan Binnington.
With Blues general manager Doug Armstrong making the decision to stay put at the trade deadline on Monday, management is putting their trust in the team’s current roster to carry them to the promised land. Wednesday’s game against the NHL’s top team could reveal just how serious St. Louis is about making a run for its second Stanley Cup championship in three years. A strong, full 60-minute effort will be expected, and anything less is unacceptable as the Blues look to prove themselves capable of contending with the league’s best clubs.
The puck drops at Enterprise Center on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT. Binnington is expected to start for the Blues, while Devan Dubnyk is likely to make his Avalanche debut after he was acquired from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline.
As per NHL.com, the Blues’ projected lineup against the Avalanche is as follows:
Sammy Blais – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron
Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko
Zach Sanford – Tyler Bozak – Mike Hoffman
Kyle Clifford – Ivan Barbashev – Jordan Kyrou
Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella – Vince Dunn
Jake Walman – Colton Parayko
Jordan Binnington
Ville Husso
Scratched: Robert Bortuzzo, Niko Mikkola
Injured: Robert Thomas (shoulder), Mackenzie MacEachern (upper body)