NHL Grind Down: Friday, January 22nd - Page Two
St. Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche – 09:00 PM EST
| St. Louis Blues | Colorado Avalanche | ||||||||
 | Brian Elliott |  | Semyon Varlamov | ||||||
| Record | Record | ||||||||
| 28-15-7 | 24-21-3 | ||||||||
| Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% | Stats | GF/GP | GA/GP | PP% | PK% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Stats | 2.50 | 2.44 | 20.00% | 85.50% | Team Stats | 2.77 | 2.73 | 20.50% | 80.10% |
The Blues have been badly outshot in each of their last three games, but thanks to some stellar goaltending play from Brian Elliott, they’ve come away victorious in all three. They defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Wednesday and will continue their four game road trip tonight in Denver as they take on the Avalanche. The Blues have been hampered by a rash of injuries lately, but their depth has helped soften the blow and they should be able to control play against a Colorado team rated as the worst puck possession team in the NHL this season (44.4 CF%). Vladimir Tarasenko is the focal point of this offense and he’s not only tallied 25 goals and 21 assists in 48 games this season but has also punished the Avalanche with two goals and an assist in their two prior meetings. He’ll be joined on the top line by fellow youngsters Robby Fabbri and Jori Lehtera with all three looking like solid dollar-for-dollar options. Paul Stastny awoke from his slumber with a four point night against Pittsburgh earlier this week and centers a very dangerous line containing Alexander Steen and Troy Brouwer. If Patrick Roy and the Avalanche devote too much energy behind slowing down the Tarasenko line, this trio could make them pay in a hurry. On defense, former first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche Kevin Shattenkirk has proven to be a very dangerous weapon on the point of St. Louis’ top power-play unit and is a terrific option on the blue-line. St. Louis is hopeful to have Colton Parayko back in uniform tonight and both he and Alex Pietrangelo look like fine secondary options.
The Avalanche are still trying to dig out of the hole their early season struggles buried them into, but they’ve won each of their last two games and have quietly posted a solid 15-7-2 record over their last 25 games. They defeated this St. Louis team in both prior meetings this season and it’s never easy for opposing teams to adjust to the altitude in Denver. With all of that said, Brian Elliott has been playing tremendously well in net and the Blues are allowing just 2.44 goals per game on the season, so I’ll definitely be limiting my exposure here. Matt Duchene and Nathan Mackinnon are tied for the team lead with 38 points and will join Alex Tanguay on the top forward line. While they look like the top options they’ll also likely be shadowed by the tough defense of the Steen/Stastny/Brouwer line which is less than ideal. Conversely, Gabriel Landeskog has racked up 21 points in 23 home games and skates alongside the streaking Carl Soderberg (and Blake Comeau) on the very capable second line. On defense, Tyson Barrie has also excelled at the Pepsi Center this season as he’s posted 6 goals and 15 assists in 21 home games. With Erik Johnson still sidelined, he’s locked into 20+ minutes per game and runs things from the point of Colorado’s #1 power-play unit.
Elite Options
STL: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Kevin Shattenkirk
COL: Nathan Mackinnon, Matt Duchene, Tyson Barrie
Secondary Options
STL: Troy Brouwer, Jori Lehtera, Robby Fabbri, Paul Stastny, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo
COL: Gabriel Landeskog, Carl Soderberg, Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla, Francois Beauchemin