The Colorado Avalanche will host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night, as they look to agitate the others en route to a victory. If the Stanley Cup Playoffs started today, these two would actually face each other in the first round.
Hence, we could get a sneaky playoff preview this evening in the sixth game of the seven-game home stand at Ball Arena. The only other game between the two this season saw Colorado agitate the Ducks and win on home ice on November 11.
Colorado Avalanche (34–5–8, 76 pts)
The Avalanche rebounded on Monday afternoon with an MLK matinee win over the Washington Capitals. Nathan MacKinnon bounced back with three points, while both Martin Necas and Victor Olofsson had multi-point games.
They did this all without Valeri Nichushkin in the lineup. It was later reported that he was in a car accident on his way to Ball Arena. He sustained minor injuries but was back on the ice the following day. Joel Kiviranta could return as well from injury.
Without Gabriel Landeskog and Devon Toews, the Avs are still a bit shorthanded. After trading away Ilya Solovyov, the defense is also slightly different, with Jack Ahcan joining the team for the time being. New man Valtteri Puustinen will have to wait to make his debut for the Avs with the callup Taylor Makar.
Valtteri Puustinen goes top shelf to extend the @wbspenguins.bsky.social lead in #WBSvsBEL⬆️
— American Hockey League (@theahl.com) 2025-01-11T01:08:01.419Z
Projected Lines
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Victor Olofsson – Jack Drury – Gavin Brindley
Zakhar Bardakov – Parker Kelly – Taylor Makar
Samuel Girard – Cale Makar
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Jack Ahcan – Sam Malinski
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Anaheim Ducks (25–21–3, 53 pts)
The Ducks are sitting pretty now, most recently coming off a nice win. It came at home against the last-place team in the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers, in a 5–3 final.
Anaheim’s game in Colorado kicks off the first of five games on the road. They’re hitting the road at the right time, winning four straight. Those include wins over the Dallas Stars and back-to-back victories over their cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Kings.
The wins have propelled them back into the playoff picture, currently sitting in the second wild card spot. Even without Leo Carlsson or Troy Terry, young guns Cutter Gauthier and Beckett Sennecke will look to agitate Colorado and steer their team to a fifth straight win with 11 forwards and seven defenders.
Projected Lines
Chris Kreider – Mason McTavish – Ryan Strome
Alex Killorn – Mikael Granlund – Beckett Sennecke
Jeffrey Viel – Ryan Poehling – Cutter Gauthier
Ross Johnston – Tim Washe
Jackson Lacombe – Jacob Trouba
Pavel Mintyukov – Drew Helleson
Olen Zellweger – Radko Gudas
Ian Moore
Lukas Dostal
Ville Husso
Game Details
Time: 7:00 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, Victory+ (ANA), KCOP-13 (ANA), ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950
