Game Preview: The Colorado Avalanche give the Seattle Kraken a warm holiday welcome

The Colorado Avalanche return home after a three-game West Coast road trip for a quick game before the holiday break. It comes against a new Seattle Kraken team.

The Avs took two of three on the road and are looking to improve their home record. At just 8-8 on home ice, there’s a good chance tonight to get above .500 before the four-day Christmas break.

Colorado avalanche

As previously mentioned, Colorado took two of three on the road, with the last two wins coming in back-to-back matchups. Colorado took care of business against both the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks on Thursday and Friday night, with both games ending in a 4-2 final.

While there were some new faces on the tour, including Tye Felhaber and Jere Innala, only one of those two is expected to be in the lineup tonight thanks to the holiday roster freeze. That would be Innala still holding her own on the fourth line.

There was also hope that Josh Manson would return during the trip, but he did not appear. It looks like he won’t play tonight either, as he skated in a red contact jersey during the morning skate. Can the same lineup prevail for a third straight game?

Expected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen (62) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Valeri Nichushkin (13)
Ross Colton (20) – Casey Mittelstadt (37) – Mikko Rantanen (96)
Joel Kiviranta (94) – Parker Kelly (17) – Logan O’Connor (25)
Givani Smith (55) – Ivan Ivan (82) – Jere Innala (22)

Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Sam Girard (49) – Sam Malinski (70)
Keaton Middleton (67) – Calvin de Haan (44)

Seattle Kraken

Seattle comes to Denver on their own after playing last night against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Kraken would come out on the wrong end of the result in a 6-2 dubbing.

The new face on the field is Kaapo Kakko, who was traded by the New York Rangers for Will Borgen and a couple of draft picks. Kakko will immediately slot into Seattle’s top six and give them another scoring threat with the forward looking for a fresh start.

This will be his third game with the ‘S’ on the front of the sweater. Can he get his first point against the Avalanche and help his team end a three-game skid?

Projected lines

Jared McCann (19) – Matty Beniers (10) – Kaapo Kakko (84)
Eeli Tolvanen (20) – Chandler Stephenson (9) – Oliver Bjorkstrand (22)
Jaden Schwartz (17) – Shane Wright (51) – Andre Burakovsky (95)
Daniel Sprong (91) – Yanni Gourde (37) – Brandon Tanev (13)

Vince Dunn (29) – Adam Larsson (6)
Jamie Oleksiak (24) – Brandon Montour (62)
Ryker Evans (41) – Josh Mahura (28)

Goalkeepers

Mackenzie Blackwood will get the nod for the Avalanche in what will be just his second home appearance. With Philipp Grubauer playing last night in Las Vegas, expect Joey Daccord to go tonight for the visitors.