The Utah Hockey Club will make their first trip to Denver since moving from Arizona and will face a newly revamped Colorado Avalanche team on Thursday night. At least part of the team is new.
Colorado recently changed its goaltending situation, trading away Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev in separate deals. In return, the Avalanche got two new goalies they hope can help them make a deep playoff run.
Scott Wedgewood was acquired from Nashville on Nov. 30, and Mackenzie Blackwood was brought in from San Jose on Tuesday. Wedgewood has started the last two games but will likely be Blackwood’s backup once everything settles.
“With Mackenzie, we feel like he’s just gotten better and better every year,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. “He’s young. He’s been outstanding in San Jose this year. … We believe there’s some untapped potential in him as he’s growing as a goaltender, but we feel very excited to add him. He’s a big body. He’s athletic. We think he’s stylistically going to fit really well with how we play.”
Colorado did not practice Wednesday after returning from a 4-1 road trip that ended in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, so it’s not clear which goaltender will start against Utah.
Trading both goaltenders is a risky move, but it was seen as necessary after Georgiev and Annunen showed inconsistency this season. The Avalanche have top-level skaters and are still aiming for a championship, so finding stability in goal was crucial.
Those top players have been carrying the team and should continue to do so in the second meeting with Utah. Nathan MacKinnon, despite a recent scoring slump, leads the NHL with 46 points (10 goals, 36 assists), and Mikko Rantanen is fourth with 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists).
Rantanen recorded his third hat trick of the season against Pittsburgh and finished with five points, the same as MacKinnon.
Colorado feels like it’s found its rhythm going into Thursday’s game.
“Yeah, it does,” MacKinnon said when asked if this is how the Avalanche should play. “Once we get (Jonathan Drouin) back, we’ll be even better.”
Utah lost the first meeting between these teams 5-1 in Salt Lake City on Oct. 24, but they have been playing well recently. The Utah Hockey Club is 4-1-2 in their last seven games, finding success with a mix of experienced and younger players.
Captain Clayton Keller leads the team in scoring with 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists), and Dylan Guenther has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists). Utah has 10 players who have recorded double-digit points, including defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (seven goals, 13 assists).
Sergachev was acquired from Tampa Bay in the offseason to strengthen the defense. He is a true No. 1 defenseman and leads the team in ice time, averaging 25:27 per game. Getting Sergachev was considered an important move to help build a playoff-contending team.
“He is a top-of-the-line NHL defenseman who can play in just about every style and just about do everything on the ice,” Utah defenseman Ian Cole told ESPN. Cole and Sergachev were teammates in Tampa Bay.
“He’s well put together. He’s strong. He can play hard. He can play skillfully. He can shoot the puck. He can score goals. He can run the power play. He can kill penalties. He can do everything,” Cole said.
