Colorado Avalanche News
MacKinnon is dealing with a lower-body injury and is questionable for Friday's game in Florida. If MacKinnon is unable to play, head coach Jared Bednar said that Nazem Kadri will move up and centre the first line and J.T. Compher will centre the second line.
Georgiev stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Rangers win in Ottawa on October 5th. The Rangers have had a bizarre early-season schedule but they get back in action with a back-to-back on Thursday/Friday. Georgiev’s first outing was impressive and tonight he faces a Devils team that is the only winless team left. They are averaging just 2.17 goals per game (t-28th) through six games.
Nichushkin has just one assist in his first five games with the Avalanche and will rest Wednesday in Pittsburgh. J.T. Compher is returning from a lower-body injury, replacing Nichushkin in their bottom-6.
It will be the first start of Francouz's career, although he did make a pair of relief appearances last season, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced in those two games. He registered a 27-20-1 record with the AHL's Colorado Eagles last season, posting a 2.68 GAA and a .918 SV%. He's worth considering for a spot start against Arizona if you're desperate for goalie stats.
Kylington has failed to record a point while averaging 11:59 TOI/gm through three games this season. Michael Stone is expected to replace Kylington on the third-pair on Thursday.
Georgiev had a solid rookie campaign, going 14-13-4 with a 2.91 GAA and .914 SV% in 33 games as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Depending on how King Henrik plays, Georgiev could be in-line for an even bigger workload in his second full-season. Overall, he has a .915 SV% in 39 career starts and is a solid spot-start option against a bad Senators team.
de Haan has been questionable leading up to the Blackhawks season opener in Prague but was officially ruled out a few hours prior to puck-drop. Dennis Gilbert will play in his second career NHL game in de Haan's spot on the Blackhawks blueline.
Rantanen missed training camp because of a contract holdout but was back on the ice with the Avalanche on Monday. After his first practice session, head coach Jared Bednar said that his star right-winger will play Thursday. Rantanen is scheduled to skate on the top-line with Nathan Mackinnon and Gabriel Landeskog and should have no issues topping 80 points for the third consecutive season.
Rantanen and the Avalanche came down to the wire but finally came to terms on a six-year deal. The soon-to-be 23-year old has posted back-to-back 80-plus point seasons, including 31 goals and 56 assists last year. He is expected to re-join the Avalanche and should be available for their season opener on Thursday.
The former No.10 overall pick (2013) struggled mightily in 2019 after returning from a two-year stint in the KHL. Nichushkin failed to record a goal while compiling just 10 assists in 57 games with the Stars and has just 74 points (23G / 51A) in 223 career NHL games with Dallas. This is a low-risk signing for the Avalanche and Nichushkin has a chance to produce in a quality bottom-6 that improved this summer.
Girard posted a career-high with 27 points (4G / 23A) in 82 games last season. Girard will be the man in Colorado to start 2020 following the trade of Tyson Barrie. However, Cale Makar could quickly elevate up the depth chart but Girard will likely play on the top-pair and second power-play to open the season.
Kamenev only appeared in 25 combined games last year after suffering a shoulder injury in mid-December. Kamenev had just two goals and three assists (five points) in 23 games with the Avalanche and will likely start 2020 on their fourth line.
Hudon spent the entire 2019 season with the Canadiens but appeared in just 32 games and picked up just five points (3G / 2A). It was a disappointing year for Hudon, who had 30 points in 2018. With Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki pushing for the NHL, Hudon will likely be an extra forward to start 2020.
Nichushkin has been a huge disappointment for the Stars since selecting him No.10 overall in 2013. Nichushkin failed to live up to expectations early in his career before going to the KHL for two years (2017 and 2018). He returned to the NHL last year but did not score a goal while collecting just 10 assists in 57 games. Nichushkin has one-year left on his deal that carries a $2.95M cap-hit (per PuckPedia).
MacDonald had one goal in two games with the Panthers last year but spend most of the season in Springfield (AHL). The 26-year-old led all Thunderbirds’ defensemen in goals (14) and points (43) in 72 games. MacDonald is likely headed to the AHL to start 2020 as well.
In his first and only season with the Hurricanes, de Haan registered one goal with 13 assists (14 points) in 74 gmaes. It was the worst statistical season of de Haan’s 378-game career. The 28-year-old has three year’s left with $4.55M cap-hit and represents the second offseason addition to the Blackhawks blueline—they acquired Olli Maatta from the Penguins just over a week ago.