'We have more guys pulling the rope in the right direction': Avalanche look to continue road success vs Blues

Colorado has earned six points on the road and looks to add another two against the St. Louis Blues before heading home for a long home stand.

The Avalanche have earned 39 points in 36 road games this season, compared to their success at home — 52 points in 32 games. The script flipped from last season with a better road record, but the team has changed since then. 

"We have more flexibility, we have more depth, we have more guys pulling the rope in the right direction so we're starting to see some success," head coach Jared Bednar said. "I think it's important for our team to feel like, you know, that we can go out and win in any building, that it doesn't matter where we play. We hadn't established that through the first heavy portion of the year on the road but again, it's your confidence going into the playoffs is what matters." 

The Avs have won their last six games, while the Blues have been the victors in their last four. Colorado is fighting for the top spot in the Central Division tied with the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars with 91 points each. St. Louis has struggled this season and is fighting for a wild card spot as the No. 5 team in the division with 75 points. 

"They're trying to track down a playoff spot here so they're going to play hard, there's no question about it. It'll be similar to a couple teams we've played — Calgary (Flames) was in the same boat, Minny (Minnesota Wild) was in the same boat," Bednar said. "Staying disciplined, their power play is humming along right now, they have some dangerous players, so we have to check them the right way."

The Avalanche have won two of their three matchups with the Blues — Nov. 1: 4-1, Dec. 29: 2-1 — but got blown out 8-2 at Ball Arena on Nov. 11. The focus for Colorado Tuesday night is to continue its game and not pay too much attention to the opponent. 

"At times, I think on the road if we got down early, I think we kind of got away from our structure and tried to force offense too much," Ross Colton told Guerilla Sports reporter J.J. Jerez. "So for us, like I said, it's just worrying about the guys in here and not worrying about who's on the other side and control the game from the start."

Nathan MacKinnon is riding a 15-game point streak, his second streak of as many games this season. The 28-year-old also leads the league in points with 116. 

The new additions have acclimated well with the team. Casey Mittelstadt has three points in his first four games in burgundy and blue, and Sean Walker scored two goals in the 3-2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers. 

Bednar confirmed Justus Annunen will start against the Blues, and Jordan Binnington will protect the net for St. Louis, according to The Hockey News' Blues reporter Lou Korac. 

Valeri Nichushkin — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Artturi Lehkonen — Casey Mittelstadt — Jonathan Drouin
Miles Wood — Ross Colton — Zach Parise
Brandon Duhaime — Andrew Cogliano — Yakov Trenin

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Jack Johnson — Sean Walker

Justus Annunen
Alexandar Georgiev

The puck drops at the Enterprise Center at 6 p.m. MT. 

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