Colorado Avalanche News

Ivan is an undrafted 21-year-old playing his first professional season with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. In 51 games, the Czech forward has 27 points (12G / 15A).

Caleb Jones will enter the Avalanche lineup on Monday, replacing Manson, who is out due to a lower-body injury. Manson has gone without a point in 12 straight games but has tallied a whopping 31 hits over that time.

Annunen's strong play has earned him a larger workload lately, as he will start for the third time in the last seven games. The 23-year-old Annunen will be facing a low-scoring Chicago Blackhawks club that he made 24 saves against less than a week ago for his first career shutout. The Avalanche are enormous -464 home favourites against the Blackhawks on Monday night.

Caleb Jones could enter the Avalanche lineup on Monday, replacing Manson, who is doubtful due to a lower-body injury. Manson has gone without a point in 12 straight games but has tallied a whopping 31 hits over that time.

Nichushkin has not played since January 10th before entering the NHL's Player Assistance program. He has missed 18 games and, despite returning to practice last week, will miss at least one more as he reacclimates to the team and conditioning. Before his absence, Nichushkin was scoring at a torrid pace with 21 points (19G / 9A) in his last 15 games.

Annunen's strong play has earned him a larger workload lately, as he will likely start for the third time in the last seven games. The 23-year-old Annunen will be facing a low-scoring Chicago Blackhawks club that he made 24 saves against less than a week ago for his first career shutout. The Avalanche are enormous -464 home favourites against the Blackhawks on Monday night.

Colorado cleared up $775,000 in cap space a week before the trade deadline as they traded Kurtis MacDermid for Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 seventh-round pick. The Avalanche acquired Bardakov, a 23-year-old winger who was drafted in the 2021 seventh round (203rd overall). He currently skating with SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) and had six goals and 12 points in 51 games with them this season.

Colorado has begun to show more trust in Justus Annunen, starting two of the last four games, but will return to their workhorse Georgiev on Saturday. Georgiev was excellent in his last outing, saving 33 of 34 shots (.971 SV%) in a statement 5-1 victory over their division rivals, the Dallas Stars. Georgiev and the Avalanche will face off against a Nashville Predators club that has outscored their opposition by a whopping 32-12 margin during a seven-game winning streak.

Despite losing his last three starts, Colorado has become more comfortable rolling with Annunen between the pipes. That said, he played well in his last outing, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933 SV%) in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Annunen draws a favourable matchup on Thursday as the Avalanche are sizeable -270 road favourites against the bottom-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks.

Despite losing his last three starts, Colorado has become more comfortable rolling with Annunen between the pipes. That said, he played well in his last outing, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933 SV%) in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Annunen draws a favourable matchup on Thursday as the Avalanche are sizeable -270 road favourites against the bottom-dwelling Chicago Blackhawks.

Georgiev will make his second-straight start Tuesday as he looks to redeem himself after allowing four goals on 34 shots (.867 SV%) in a loss to Toronto his last time out. The 28-year-old All-Star still holds an impressive 30-14-3 record despite his below .900 SV% (.898 SV%) and 2.92 GAA. He draws the tough task of the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, who luckily are on the back end of a back-to-back after a loss to the New York Islanders on Monday.

Georgiev will make his second-straight start Tuesday as he looks to redeem himself after allowing four goals on 34 shots (.867 SV%) in a loss to Toronto his last time out. The 28-year-old All-Star still holds an impressive 30-14-3 record despite his below .900 SV% (.898 SV%) and 2.92 GAA. He draws the tough task of the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, who luckily are on the back end of a back-to-back after a loss to the New York Islanders on Monday.

Nichushkin has not played since January 10th before entering the NHL's Player Assistance program. He has missed 17 games and, despite returning to practice on Monday, will miss at least two more as he reaclimates to the team. Before his absence, Nichushkin was scoring at a torrid pace with 21 points (19G / 9A) in his last 15 games.

MacDermid will get a chance to play in place of Fredrik Olofsson, who is listed as a scratch for Thursday's game in Detroit. MacDermid has two goals and no assists in 28 games this season.

Annunen has struggled in limited action for the Avalanche this season but will start for the second time in the last four games on Thursday night. In three games this season (1-2-0), Annunen has a disastrous 4.08 GAA and .888 SV%. That said, the high-scoring Avalanche are still -127 road favourites against a Detroit Red Wings club that has outscored their opposition 9-3 in their last two games (2-0-0).