The last time the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche met in Denver was almost a year ago. It turned into a fun but disappointing game. Matt Stienburg tried to rally the troops with a fight against the biggest man on the ice, Nikita Zadorov. The Bruins are rebuilding, though they possess a 3–2 record. All the games have been close, so the losses could have gone the other way. The Avalanche have lost only one game in a shootout and want to carry the momentum from the two wins on the road trip back to Denver. With depth scoring capabilities on both sides of the bench, this could be a fast and high-scoring affair.

Colorado Avalanche (4–0–1)

The Avalanche are coming home after a successful two-game road trip. Thursday’s game saw a 4–1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets in which the second line lit up. The second line, which had only two points coming into the game, tallied four points on the night. Valeri Nichushkin netted two goals while Brock Nelson tipped himself a goal. Even Gabriel Landeskog got in on the action with an assist on Nichushkin’s second goal. Scott Wedgewood put up a stellar performance to earn his fourth win of the season in just five games. Wedgewood now sits atop the NHL in wins, adding a 1.58 goals allowed average and .939 save percentage. The Avalanche ended Mackenzie Blackwood’s conditioning loan on Friday, but it is unclear if he can start in net.

Projected Lines

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Jack Drury — Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly —Zakhar Bardakov — Gavin Brindley

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov — Sam Malinski

Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner

Boston Bruins (3–2–0)

The Bruins went on a scoring spree on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights. In a 6–5 loss, the Bruins had five different goal scorers, including former Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Littleton, Colorado, native and former Colorado Thunderbird Michael Eyssimont scored his first goal of the season early in the third. Their entire lineup provided the scoring, which may present a challenge for the Avalanche. It won’t be just the top line or two that will be a threat for this rebuilding team. Former Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt is off to a slow start with just two goals in the five games. But, goaltending will be the biggest challenge for Colorado as Jeremy Swayman still has a .916 save percentage.

Projected Lines

Morgan Geekie — Elias Lindholm — David Pastrnak
Pavel Zacha — Casey Mittelstadt — Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot — Fraser Minten — Michael Eyssimont
Jeffrey Viel — Sean Kuraly — Mark Kastelic

Mason Lohrei — Charlie McAvoy
Nikita Zadorov — Henri Jokiharju
Jordan Harris — Andrew Peeke

Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo

Game Details

Time: 7 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude Sports

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM