The Avalanche are set to play a big game tonight at Ball Arena. Will it go better than it did on Monday? What will the future of Jack Drury hold this summer? How about Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh? Also, the Eastern Conference Playoff race had several notable results on Tuesday.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — March 18.
Colorado Hockey Now
Remember when the Toronto Maple Leafs ended Colorado’s 17-game home winning streak in January? Ever since then, the Avs are 4-6-2 at Ball Arena. Overall, the team is 23-6-4 at home, including a shootout loss to the Dallas Stars in October. They’ll need to be better than that this evening to keep the Stars from catching them for the No. 1 seed.
In the meantime, here’s the second part of the March Mailbag, answering questions about the futures for Jack Drury and Brent Burns, along with a thought about upcoming retiring numbers in the rafters.
Around The NHL
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Evgeni Malkin looked like vintage Geno at Ball Arena on Monday. And it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to call it a career anytime soon.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs are fighting to get into the playoffs for the second year in a row despite bad goaltending for most of the year. But their issues go far beyond that.
Philly Hockey Now: The son of Mike Knuble has signed an entry-level deal with the same team where his dad had a lot of personal success.
Boston Hockey Now: Pavel Zacha scored twice and the Bruins got a point, but it would’ve been better if they got two. The New York Islanders
Carolina Hockey Now: The Blue Jackets are chasing both teams, and they got two points against Carolina. The New York Islanders also defeated the Leafs in regulation to keep pace.