The Colorado Avalanche are set to welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening for a late-night, nationally televised contest at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.<\/p>\n
It hasn\u2019t been officially confirmed yet, but Sidney Crosby was a full participant at this morning\u2019s skate and could return to the lineup after missing time with an injury suffered during the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in a collision with Radko Gudas.<\/p>\n
This also would have marked the first game against his former club for Sam Girard since the trade that sent him to Pittsburgh. Girard, who helped Colorado capture the Stanley Cup in 2022, is expected to be in the building but not in the lineup tonight.<\/p>\n
The Avalanche are looking to rebound after dropping their last game to the Winnipeg Jets \u2014 a frustrating result against a team that has struggled to find consistency for much of the season. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has quietly climbed the Metropolitan Division standings and currently sits in second place.<\/p>\n
Will the Penguins continue building momentum, or will the league-leading Avalanche remind them how tough it is to leave Denver with two points?<\/p>\n
Colorado didn\u2019t undergo the full-scale facelift we saw last season ahead of the trade deadline, but there are still a few new faces settling in after some mid-season roster maneuvering.<\/p>\n
Brett Kulak has effectively slid into the lineup following the Girard deal, while Victor Olofsson was moved as part of the package that brought Nazem Kadri back to Denver. Kadri, of course, needs little time to get comfortable in burgundy and blue \u2014 the veteran center already looks right at home alongside Nathan MacKinnon.<\/p>\n
Colorado\u2019s additions have contributed early as well. Nicolas Roy has chipped in with a couple of power-play goals since arriving, giving the Avalanche another net-front option on a unit that already ranks among the league\u2019s most dangerous.<\/p>\n
Keep an eye on the new guys again tonight.<\/p>\n
What began as a clear plan to have MacKenzie Blackwood handle the starter\u2019s workload has shifted in recent weeks. Blackwood is still working his way back into form after offseason surgery, while Scott Wedgewood has quietly seized the opportunity and run with it.<\/p>\n
Wedgewood has been excellent lately, posting strong numbers and giving Colorado a chance to win almost every night he\u2019s in the crease. At this point, it\u2019s hard to argue against riding the hot hand.<\/p>\n
Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood<\/p>\n
As mentioned earlier, the Penguins have continued to pick up wins since the Olympic break \u2014 and they\u2019ve done it despite being without their captain.<\/p>\n
Good teams find a way, and this Pittsburgh group has done exactly that. The Penguins have steadily climbed the standings and look increasingly likely to secure a playoff spot in what remains a tight \u2014 and at times underwhelming \u2014 Metropolitan Division race.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be honest: the NHL is simply a better place when Sidney Crosby is playing meaningful games in the spring.<\/p>\n
Back in Denver, Girard could receive a tribute video tonight despite likely watching from the press box. Some fans may grumble, but there\u2019s no debating Girard\u2019s role in Colorado\u2019s success during his time with the organization. The smooth-skating defenseman was a key part of the Avalanche blue line during the 2022 championship run and throughout his tenure in burgundy and blue.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s earned his moment.<\/p>\n
Crosby did skate in full contact gear this morning, leaving open the possibility that he could return to the lineup tonight \u2014 potentially setting up another matchup between the Nova Scotia natives Crosby and MacKinnon.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s always must-watch hockey.<\/p>\n
Arturs Silovs
Stuart Skinner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado Avalanche are set to welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening for a late-night, nationally televised contest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[29254,3597,5],"class_list":{"0":"post-506874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-colorado-avalanche-game-coverage","9":"tag-colorado-avalanche-previews","10":"tag-hockey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116241448595123858","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}