The Colorado Avalanche came out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a strong all-around performance at Nashville on Saturday.
But after suffering a 2-1 loss to the Predators, the Avalanche will seek a better outcome on Sunday against the host St. Louis Blues.
The Avalanche lost despite holding a 32-17 edge in shots against the Predators. Defenseman Sam Malinski scored the only goal for Colorado, and center Nathan MacKinnon was held off the scoresheet despite putting eight shots on goal.
“If I take the result out of it, then I’m actually like really happy with the way that we played,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought that was a good continuation of the practice days that we had. Liked our energy, liked our skating, I felt like we made a lot of plays coming out of our zone. You know, we had a tough time scoring tonight, and we checked hard. We limited the chances against.”
The Avalanche saw 21 of their shots blocked by Nashville.
“We did a good job of creating a good amount of chances,” Colorado forward Ross Colton said. “But we’ve just got to bear down and take the eyes away and keep working, I guess.”
The Avalanche defeated the Blues 5-0 on Jan. 31. Jonathan Drouin collected two goals and an assist, while goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood earned a shutout by stopping all 19 shots he faced.
Scott Wedgewood started in goal for Colorado in Nashville, so Blackwood likely will get another shot at the Blues on Sunday.
Colorado embarked on its recent two-game road trip without winger Valeri Nichushkin and defenseman Josh Manson, both of whom are sidelined by lower-body injuries.
The Blues went 2-5-1 in their last eight games before the break. They returned to action looking to climb back into the Western Conference playoff race.
“I want to see us be more aggressive on the forecheck, more aggressive being tight-checking in all three zones to create more turnovers,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “And I also want us to handle adversity better than we did previously.”
The Blues played a solid game against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to take 3-2 lead in the third period.
But they gave up a late goal and gained just a single point in a 4-3 shootout loss.
“Looking at glass half-full, we came back in the third period,” Montgomery said. “And it was our best period by far. That’s the positive. When you come out of a long stretch (of not playing) like this, you want to get better every period. Third period being our best period is a good sign.”
Montgomery said he was pleased to see his top line playing well coming out of the break. Robert Thomas recorded two goals and an assist Saturday, and Pavel Buchnevich scored a goal and set up two others.
“They had a really good week of practice, that line,” Montgomery said. “They practiced really hard all three days. They were invested in practice, and they were rewarded with how well the played.”
Joel Hofer started in goal against the Jets, so the Blues likely will turn to Jordan Binnington as he comes off his championship performance for Canada at the 4 Nations event.
–Field Level Media
