9:07 pm
November 3

Blue Jackets @ Avalanche

Who will WIN this matchup?

Columbus Blue Jackets (5-3-0)

@ Colorado Avalanche (4-4-0)

 

Starting Goalies:

Joonas Korpisalo (CBJ): Confirmed

Jonas Johansson (COL): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

Columbus Blue Jackets: (+160)

Colorado Avalanche: (-180)

 

• The Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche are set to play back-to-back games against each other, but the first meeting — Wednesday night in Denver — has become a question of who isn’t playing rather than who is.

• Columbus is coming off a shootout win in New Jersey on Sunday but boarded the plane for Denver one short. The Blue Jackets announced forward Max Domi tested positive for COVID-19 and has to quarantine for 10 days, so he won’t play Wednesday or in the Saturday rematch against Colorado back in Ohio.

• The Avalanche, who beat the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, are dealing with injuries. Mikko Rantanen will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury, forward Andre Burakovsky will miss his first game after getting hurt against the Wild and defenseman Cale Makar won’t play due to an upper-body injury. The trio join forward Valeri Nichushkin and defenseman Devon Toews among the team’s injured. Eight games into the season, Colorado has yet to have a full complement of players available.

• Without Burakovsky or Rantanen available, forward J.T. Compher will move up to the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Compher has bounced between the second and third lines in the early part of the season and is looking forward to playing with MacKinnon and Landeskog.

• Avalanche coach Jared Bednar also said Tuesday that Jonas Johansson would start in net.

• Columbus has also been hit by the injury bug, most notably to its defensive corps, but might get a little healthier. Adam Boqvist, who hasn’t played since Oct. 23 because of a lower-body injury, was on the ice for practice Tuesday. The Blue Jackets are without Dean Kukan (fractured wrist) as well.

• Colorado has had to rely on young players on defense and so far rookie Bowen Byram has played well. Byram was on the cusp of starting the season in the AHL, but Toews’ injury was one reason he stayed with the Avalanche, and he has made the most of this chance.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Colorado Avalanche
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