OffThePost.org

Chicago tonight. There was the potential for drama after the events of the previous showdown between these two teams but that's since been defused...we think.

During the game, Josh Manson slashed Connor Bedard in the hand/wrist area and Bedard was none too pleased at the time, even yelling at the refs and slamming the bench door. Nick Foligno made it pretty clear he might be making an on-ice inquiry in the next game, but two things have occurred since then. One, Manson is questionable to go tonight (Seth Jones' brother Caleb is likely to play in his stead), and two, Bedard himself played down the incident, calling it a "love tap."

All credit in the world to Bedard here, he could've let the whole "retribution" thing play out but instead let cooler heads prevail and focused on hockey. I like Bedard quite a bit. He's a bit of a punk-ass out there on the ice, carries himself with more than a bit of an edge and even a little cocky at times. I dig it, we need more players like that. Avs fans, in response to some of the furor, which was stirred up further by an article written by Mark Lazerus of The Athletic, posted footage of Bedard taking a whack at Bowen Byram's leg earlier in the contest, but that certainly doesn't justify the slash that came later IMO. Thankfully it didn't lead to an injury.

Oh and the way Bednar is talking, Manson is very likely out. It's the Jones Brothers facing off after all.

Megan Angley of DNVR asked Cale if he was injured, he said no. Yeah, bullshit. We all know he's hurt, but I understand why he's refusing to disclose it.

I still wonder if Habs and Colorado could work out an Allen/Johansen deal (Habs get a non-monetary sweetener), which opens up a bit of cap space for a Henrique type.

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Henrique doesn't move the needle nearly enough. He's not a full-time center, mostly a winger who's good at draws. In that respect he could be a poor-man's Landeskog, but the Avs are hoping the real deal will be ready for the postseason. I'm hoping the Avs go for broke and get someone like Zegras or Mittelstadt. They've got to try.

5-0 win over the Hawks, no side drama from the last game spilled over thankfully. It was a good game by everyone but once again it's against the worst in the league, so grain of salt definitely required. Nathan MacKinnon once again tied with Nikita Kucherov for the scoring lead.

Justus Annunen with another shutout. He wasn't challenged a ton but made the big saves when he had to so...good for him. Got the game's first star. I'm still not convinced he's a legit NHL netminding prospect, but it's never a bad thing for him to have a good showing, if nothing else it's good for a trade showcase.

I'm personally not that interested in Allen. That contract is bad (yeah I know, so is Johansen's) and he hasn't even been all that good in a backup role. But we'll see what the Avs do...they got a couple days left.

Could be absolutely nothing given that it's flu season and both these players have pretty lengthy injury histories, but both Logan O'Connor and Bowen Byram are not currently present at Avalanche practice.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Sean Walker comes to Colorado in exchange for Ryan Johansen and a 1st.

Casey Mittelstadt comes to Colorado in exchange for Bowen Byram.

OKAY THEN, that's two major needs addressed and they also dump the corpse of Ryan Johansen and his contract in a tidy bit of business.

Well then...tonight's game against Detroit feels like an afterthought right now.

Avs obviously missing a defenseman now, I'm assuming Caleb Jones plays in Byram's stead on the third pairing. They've also recalled Ondrej Pavel and Jean-Luc Foudy, the latter of whom missed a majority of this season due to injury, as additional fill-ins. I'm just guessing Logan O'Connor will sit. Also, Valeri Nichushkin is still practicing with the team but has not yet been cleared to play by NHL Players' Assistance.

So the new additions unlikely to make it in for tonight's contest, but there's a remote possibility that Mittelstadt, Walker, AND Nichushkin will play on Friday against the Mini-soda Wylde in Denver. The question then will be, who sits? A good problem to have.

CALE MAKAR HAT TRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Avs score four more on top of that to spoil J.T. Compher's return to Denver. The DJ even played a voiceover that said "Touchdown" on the PA after the 7th was scored.

Apparently an HF user posted this on YouTube last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tKLzEE ... usBassFace

Jean-Luc Foudy also scores his first career NHL goal.

Couldn't help but notice that the Avs had a lot more jump in their game with Ryan Johansen finally removed entirely from the roster. I don't know how much credence to put to it but Adrian Dater posted on Twitter that things had gotten ugly between Johansen and a few core players, and that was ratcheting up tension in the locker room. Is there any truth to that? I don't know. By all accounts Johansen is as good a guy as they come, but I wouldn't be surprised if some players (Nathan MacKinnon in particular) really didn't take well to him loafing it on most nights.

Mittelstadt and Walker should already be in Denver by now or are at least en route. Thankfully there will not be any visa issues like what delayed Artturi Lehkonen's Avs debut for like a goddamned month.

Oh shit...Avs just traded for Brandon Duhaime. God do I hate that guy. Guess I'll have to learn to live with it.

Definitely fills out the "tough guy" requirement though. Big dude, hits everyone and everything in sight, and isn't afraid to drop the mitts...unlike MacDermid though he can skate.

Avs have a huge surplus of bottom six forwards at preset. Wonder if anyone is on their way out.

Oh shit AGAIN!

I was about to post the Avs news that they just signed 2023 draft pick Jeremy Hanzel but...it appears they just dealt him to Nashville for Yakov Trenin.

Avs are really loading up for this playoff run. Bottom six looks so very different already.

Seravalli and Marek says 100 per cent COL is getting a goalie.

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They didn't.

So here we are. A new era begins.

All the new guys are slated to play. Valeri Nichushkin has also officially been cleared to play.

According to practice reports, here are the new lines.

Lehkonen - MacKinnon - Rantanen
Drouin - Mittelstadt - Nichushkin
Wood - Colton - Parise
Duhaime - Trenin - Cogliano/Kiviranta

Toews - Makar
Girard - Manson
Johnson - Walker

Georgiev

Annunen is reportedly sick, don't know if they use an emergency callup for Prosvetov or not.

Interesting--I guess the equipment guys were on such short notice with the new guys they just handed Trenin a random number, because he just switched from 15 to 73. And he is the first 73 in Nords/Avs history.

Some somber news that might explain the glut of forwards for the bottom six: Logan O'Connor is undergoing hip surgery and is done for the entire season.

Also, Jared Bednar says Gabriel Landeskog won't be ready until at least May 10th or so, if that. So that likely means no first round of the playoffs. That's obviously got a lot of people concerned he won't play at all this year (again) so we'll see how it goes.

Zach Parise day-to-day after an awkward collision in the corner last game.

No Artturi Lehkonen at practice today.

Chris Wagner, who suffered an injury last game, was sent down to Loveland and Oskar Olofsson was recalled. No idea what the lines will be with so many guys possibly unable to go in Calgary.

Oh joy...Avs are practicing in Calgary, Parise is out there but wearing a no-contact jersey, Lehkonen nowhere to be found, but Colton and Johnson are out there. Annunen is the likely starter.

Huge road trip starts tonight. Avs have to finally prove they can win on the road, injuries or no injuries.

Well, Lehkonen is sick so he won't go tonight. Good news considering, A case of the flu is definitely better than any sort of injury.

Unfortunately they're using...Brandon Duhaime?...on the second line.

Avs get a 6-2 victory at Mark Moser's least-favorite venue, the Saddledome. Goals from MacKinnon, Nichushkin, Rantanen, Rantanen again, Manson, and Mittelstadt with his first in an Avs uniform.

Team looked pretty good apart from some bad bounces and defensive breakdowns to start the game. PK looked really good but I'm told Calgary has the worst home power play in the entire league, so...

What's really fun is that Bednar FINALLY kept the ice time of his top guys down a bit. What a wonderful thing depth is and you don't have to deploy your 2nd line center like he's a goon who can't play!!!

Vancouver tonight. I feel like this one's an auto-loss but I hope they put up a fight at least. No Parise or Lehkonen for this one either, Georgiev will get the start.

No Demko for the Nucks, 2nd night in a row for the Av's..............both teams have their excuses pre-loaded and ready to go. Its a toss up imo.

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Shoresy, "It's called a sweater"

I’ll be damned.

All hope looked lost, especially after Georgiev gave up a bad goal to let the Canucks go up 3-0. And then momentum completely went the other direction. You can tell from this chart right when the game turned.