Preview: Road warrior Avs have another test in Tampa

Okay, the Avalanche have (almost) everyone back and seem to have turned the page on their early season struggles. With a win tonight over the Lightning (and a loss in Dallas), Colorado will sit in third place in the division and extend their winning streak to four games. Tampa enters on a cold streak, losing their last two games. They got the best of the avalanche in October. Can Colorado even the season series or will Big Kat and Kucherov steal their thunder?

Colorado avalanche

Things have looked better in Colorado, in part due to the return of Val Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood. Jonathan Drouin, in particular, has been one of the Avalanche’s best players so far this season when healthy, and he doesn’t seem to have skipped a beat since his early season injury. I’m feeling a breakout night for Nathan MacKinnon, and I’ll bet a lot of his opportunities are provided by balanced possession plays from Drouin.

Val Nichushkin got back on the board, albeit via empty nets; it’s just what some guys need to get them out of their heads and back into the action. I’m sure I’m still waiting for Val’s greasy net-front goal, but it will happen soon.

Expected lineup:

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Jonathan Drouin
Valery Nichushkin — Casey Mittelstadt — Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta — Ivan Ivan — Logan O’Connor
Miles Wood — Parker Kelly — Nikolai Kovalenko

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Oliver Kylington — Sam Malinski

Tampa Bay Lightning

As I mentioned in the October preview, Tampa is in an interesting position this season, given the big bet on Jake Guentzel over Stamkos. The plan is starting to upset some fans, but it’s too early to judge the move. Stammer has 11 points in 21 contests and Guentzel has 18 points in 19 games, so if you simply go off individual production, Tampa management did well.

Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov haven’t gone anywhere, so I think this team is still a tough match. Kuch beat MacK in the first round (head-to-head), and while MacKinnon will never say it out loud, it probably won’t sit well with him.

Expected lineup:

Jake Guentzel — Brayden Point — Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Darren Raddysh
Gage Goncalves — Conor Geekie — Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons — Luke Glendening — Michael Eyssimont

Victor Hedman — JJ Moser
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg — Nick Perbix

Goalkeepers

We haven’t confirmed a starter yet, but I think it’s safe to assume Vasilevskiy will get the nod. In return, the Avalanche should go with Alexandar Georgiev, who may not have liked the scoring against Florida, but who seems to have found a groove again. It’s pretty obvious when Georgie sees the puck well, and he turned in his best performance of the year in Colorado’s win over the Washington Capitals, posting a .966 SV% and allowing just one goal. More of that, please!