Mon, Feb 8th vs St. Louis Blues (7:30 MST) on Altitude
Saint Louis Blues at Colorado Avalanche
The Saint Louis Blues have been the definition of an up-&-down team this season. They are closer to playing precisely .500 hockey than any team in the West right now (25-24-9), and have struggled mightily to generate offensive chances, especially of late. Saint Louis will enter the Pepsi Center tonight as underdogs to the struggling Colorado Avalanche.
Yet, despite putting together five & seven game losing streaks, the Blues are still just seven points below the playoff field. Their defense is the best of the non-playoff teams in the league, and they boast an impressive two-headed veteran goaltending duo in Ty Conklin & Chris Mason (both stretching just beyond their prime at 33 years old.)
So this will be no easy test for the Avalanche.  The Colorado Kids have had offensive struggles of their own of late, even in beating down the hapless Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Saturday night. That 42-shot effort only netted two goals against a bad goaltender and a worse defense, the third score coming as an empty-netter with less than a minute left in the game.
To beat the Blues, the Avalanche will need to find ways to finish plays, as they have seen no shortage of scoring chances in recent games.  The Avs’ defense has been playing spectacularly lately, and if Craig Anderson gets another start the Blues’ offense will have a rough night.  I like the Avalanche to win a tight one in Colorado.
PREDICTION:Â AVALANCHE 2, BLUES 0
