COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thursday night will see the Colorado Avalanche get right back into the swing of things. They’ll face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time since opening night at Ball Arena in October.

Since these two last faced off, a lot has happened. Columbus is amidst the Eastern Conference playoff race, fighting for every point they can. Meanwhile, the Avs are in the middle of their own running for playoff seeding with a vastly different team than in October. Nonetheless, the Jackets will look for another win for the season sweep.

Colorado Avalanche (46-24-4)

The Avs had a long night on Wednesday. They were part of the TNT nightcap against the Chicago Blackhawks, which didn’t start until 8:52 p.m. CT. Not only that, but the game went beyond regulation and into a shootout for the second straight game in a row. Colorado did just enough to rescue two points in their 3-2 win.

Everybody in the organization knew it was far from their best game. Something about playing the second-worst team in the league bugs the Avalanche. They had to wait for two and a half periods to finally show up and complete the comeback after going down 2-0. Cale Makar started said comeback with his franchise-leading 29th goal of the season from the blue line. He’ll be eyeing to be the first defender to score 30 goals since Mike Green in 2008-09.

But, he may not be joined by Jonathan Drouin, who left the Hawks game with a lower-body injury. Martin Necas, despite scoring the equalizer with 9.8 seconds left, was also banged up and may be another to watch. Should Drouin and/or Necas be unable to go, expect one of Jimmy Vesey or Miles Wood to slot in. Colorado will have all to play for as they look to officially clinch a playoff spot with a win.

Projected Lineup

Martin Necas (88) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Artturi Lehkonen (62)
Jonathan Drouin (27) – Brock Nelson (11) – Valeri Nichushkin (13)
Joel Kiviranta (94) – Charlie Coyle (10) – Ross Colton (20)
Parker Kelly (17) – Jack Drury (18) – Logan O’Connor (25)

Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Ryan Lindgren (55) – Sam Malinski (70)
Erik Johnson (6) – Sam Girard (49)

Mackenzie Blackwood (39)
Scott Wedgewood (41)

Columbus Blue Jackets (34-30-9)

Columbus has been a part of several high-scoring thrillers in their last few games. Last game was no different against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night at home, where they came out on top 8-4.

The Blue Jackets are surprisingly right in the middle of the playoff race running – perhaps with a little bit of help from above. Every point matters, as they currently sit two points out of the final wild card spot with 77 points. They’re far from alone in the race, with the Montreal Canadiens holding the final spot tied with the New York Rangers. The Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders are right behind with 75 and 74 points, respectively.

They’ll have an additional boost playing with some rest and the Avs being on the second leg of a back-to-back. Plus, the Avalanche didn’t leave Chicago until Thursday morning because of the weather. All eyes will be on them to see if they can take advantage and get two huge points.

Projected Lines

Dmitri Voronkov (10) – Sean Monahan (23) – Kirill Marchenko (86)
Boone Jenner (38) – Adam Fantilli (19) – Kent Johnson (91)
Cole Sillinger (4) – Justin Danforth (17) – Mathiew Olivier (24)
Zach Aston-Reese (27) – Sean Kuraly (7) – Luke Kunin (11)

Zach Werenski (8) – Dante Fabbro (15)
Denton Mateychuk (5) – Ivan Provorov (9)
Jake Christansen (2) – Damon Severson (78)

Elvis Merzlikins (70)
Daniil Tarasov (40)

Game Details

Time: 5:30 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, FDSNOH, ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM