The Colorado Avalanche get another opportunity to clinch their spot atop the Central Division and the West on Tuesday night. They’ll get their chance once again against the St. Louis Blues.
Tuesday’s game in the Gateway to the West will wrap up the regular season series. Each team has taken one game so far this season.
Colorado Avalanche (50–16–10, 110 pts)
The Avalanche played against the Blues just two days ago, on Sunday. But in that chance to clinch the West, they squandered it with a 3–2 loss.
Unfortunately, it was far from one of their best games of the season, and they seemed surprised by St. Louis. Granted, the team was playing on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Dallas Stars.
Another spirited defensive effort can claim Colorado its spot atop the Western Conference and Central Division. Nic Roy will return to the lineup after missing the last seven games with an upper-body injury. And after missing the last game for maintenance and an upper-body injury, Valeri Nichushkin will return to the lineup.
Val Nichushkin and Nic Roy are playing tonight for the #Avs. Kiviranta and Bardakov are out. Wedgewood in net.
Jared Bednar said Cale Makar will likely miss “a few more games” but still expects him to play before the end of the regular season.
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) April 7, 2026
Projected Lines
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Nazem Kadri – Nic Roy
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews – Sam Malinski
Brett Kulak – Josh Manson
Nick Blankenburg – Brent Burns
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
St. Louis Blues (33–31–12, 78 pts)
The Blues stuck with the best team in the West all night long last time out. At points, they had the upper hand and eventually won out thanks to the first career hat trick by Robert Thomas.
All of a sudden, their playoff hopes are more alive than they’ve ever been all season long. They are just three points behind the final wild card spot in the West.
Thomas’s play has helped, and it earned him the NHL’s Third Star of the Week honors. Joel Hofer was excellent on Sunday night in Denver. Can those two combine with their teammates to earn a third straight win back on home ice?
ELITE 🤩
Robert Thomas is your @NHL Third Star of the Week! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/h9D5CGxSXV
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 6, 2026
Projected Lines
Dylan Holloway – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
Jonathan Drouin – Dalibor Dvorsky – Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours – Pius Suter – Jonatan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko – Jack Finley – Pavel Buchnevich
Philip Broberg – Logan Mailloux
Theo Lindstein – Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler – Tyler Tucker
Joel Hofer
Jordan Binnington
Game Details
Time: 6:00 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, FDSNMW (STL), ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950
