For the first time all season, Jared Bednar had his entire arsenal of forward options at his disposal. That lasted about 25 minutes. <\/p>\n
His team still found a way to get the job done.<\/p>\n
The Avalanche went into St. Louis and defeated the Blues 3-1 at Enterprise Center, getting some revenge for a loss at Ball Arena on Sunday. The win guaranteed the Avalanche home-ice advantage until the Stanley Cup final.<\/p>\n
Here are five takeaways from the victory:<\/p>\n
Nicolas Roy and Valeri Nichushkin returned to the lineup, giving Bednar his first look at a fully healthy lineup. Unfortunately, it didn\u2019t last. Nazem Kadri appeared to take a shot off his left-hand area on his first shift of the second period and did not return to the game with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. Bednar didn\u2019t provide on-site reporters much of an update, but he did mention it\u2019s a pain tolerance issue, so it doesn\u2019t appear to be major. The Avalanche aren\u2019t taking many chances this time of the year with injuries, so if he needs a few games off, they can give it to him.<\/p>\n
Before Kadri left, Bednar tested out new lines. He put Ross Colton with Brock Nelson and Nichushkin. He moved Gabriel Landeskog down to play with Kadri and Roy. Early returns on the lines were promising, as Kadri\u2019s line created several chances off the forecheck and Nelson\u2019s line created a goal of its own. If the Avalanche can keep these lines together, with Colton\u2019s play being key for that to happen, it would give Colorado incredible depth up front heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Colorado suffered another major scare in the third period, when Scott Wedgewood was barreled into by Philip Broberg. Wedgewood\u2019s back hit the goal post and the goaltender looked to be in a ton of pain. The good news is he stayed in and appears to be no worse for the wear.<\/p>\n
Cale Makar did not travel with the team to St. Louis, missing his fourth straight game. In his absence, Sam Malinski has stepped up. Malinski picked up another assist against the Blues.<\/p>\n
Robert Thomas was nearly dealt at the trade deadline and the Avalanche might be hoping he is this summer. He scored the only goal for the Blues just a few days after he scored all their goals on Sunday.<\/p>\n
AVALANCHE 3, BLUES 1<\/p>\n
What happened: Colorado started hot to clinch the Central Division.<\/p>\n
What went right: You think Nichushkin likes playing the Blues? The Russian picked up a hat trick against them on New Years Eve and was inches away from another one in this game. His second goal was really pretty as he corralled the puck on his backhand before putting the puck between his legs to beat Blues goaltender Joel Hofer. Twenty-nine percent of Nichushkin\u2019s goals on the season are against the Blues.<\/p>\n
What went wrong: Landeskog\u2019s story is incredible, but the Avalanche would probably like to see him stay out of the box a bit more. He\u2019s taken four minor penalties in his last four games.<\/p>\n
Avalanche goal scorers: Nichushkin (16,17), Necas (37)<\/p>\n
Blues goal scorers: Thomas (22)<\/p>\n
Between the pipes: Wedgewood finished with 18 saves on 19 shots.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next: The Avalanche host the Calgary Flames on Thursday at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
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