There's no question who a couple of the Colorado Avalanche players were rooting for Friday night when the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights met in Game 6 of their opening-round series. The Avs made it out of a first-round win against the Winnipeg Jets relatively healthy. Jonathan Drouin did not play in the series because of a skate-cut on his leg during Game 82 of the regular season against Edmonton. Joel Kiviranta was the only player who began the series but missed games, sitting out Games 4 and 5 with a lower-body injury.
There was a moment Thursday night when Colorado Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin carried the puck across the Edmonton blue line and had a decision to make. The safest is to “get the puck in deep”: Chip it behind the defenseman and create a chance for one of Drouin's teammates to win a puck battle. A linemate arrived to collect the puck just before it crossed into the neutral zone, and suddenly had more space to work with and Drouin driving the net. Skilled players have been yelled at or benched for similar plays on different teams for years.
After a couple of days off, the Hurricanes visit the Blues Friday then Blackhawks Sunday, while the Predators face those same 'Hawks Friday and the Blue Jackets on Saturday. While Nazem Kadri probably isn't available in your league, one of his valuable linemates - listed below - very well might be. Desperate for every 'W' available, Vegas faces off with the Wild on Friday and Colorado to wrap the weekend. The Panthers, Stars, Rangers, Flyers, Devils, Sabres, and Blue Jackets only play twice more before we put a bow on 2023-24.
No | Player | P |
---|---|---|
18 | D | |
60 | G | |
11 | C | |
20 | C | |
27 | LW | |
12 | RW | |
93 | C | |
40 | G | |
49 | D | |
31 | G | |
17 | D | |
82 | C | |
3 | D | |
82 | D | |
94 | LW | |
51 | RW | |
92 | LW | |
62 | LW | |
29 | C | |
8 | D | |
70 | D | |
42 | D | |
67 | D | |
50 | G | |
37 | C | |
13 | RW | |
25 | RW | |
22 | LW | |
9 | LW | |
50 | G | |
96 | RW | |
7 | D | |
73 | C | |
10 | LW | |
14 | RW | |
26 | D | |
28 | LW |