Preview: Former Avs Colton, Drury Set to Face Colorado for First Time in Nashville

The Colorado Avalanche will take on the Nashville Predators Sunday evening at Bridgestone Arena, and two familiar faces will be waiting on the other side.

Ross Colton and Jack Drury are set to face their former team for the first time since leaving Colorado in the offseason. The game is also the first time the Avalanche will face former GM Chris MacFarland, who was poached by Nashville in the offseason.

Neither departure was exactly simple. Colton was traded to Nashville alongside goaltender Isak Posch in a cost-cutting move that brought goaltender Magnus Chrona and two draft picks back to Colorado. Drury, meanwhile, was dealt with forward Chase Bradley and a draft pick in exchange for Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux. Drury’s situation was a little more complicated, as the restricted free agent turned down multiple contract offers, leaving Colorado with limited options.

Still, both players left their mark on the Avalanche. Drury was a reliable fourth-line center who brought defensive responsibility and consistency, while Colton provided a physical edge and timely scoring. After a disappointing regular season that saw him benched for Colorado’s first two playoff games, Colton found his game again and delivered some much-needed bite when the stakes were highest. Unfortunately, even that wasn’t enough to save the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche from a second-round sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Colton finished his Colorado tenure with 42 goals and 51 assists in 214 regular-season games, adding three goals and six assists in 23 playoff appearances. Drury, who arrived in Colorado as part of the Mikko Rantanen trade with Carolina, recorded 15 goals and 21 assists in 115 regular-season games. He also chipped in four goals and three assists in 20 playoff games, including a huge goal in Game 3 against Vegas that gave Colorado a 3-0 lead before the Avs let the game slip away late.

Now, both will get their first crack at their former club in Predators colors.

Nashville enters Sunday’s matchup at 3-3-4 through 10 games, while Colorado is looking to build on Friday’s 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning after dropping its previous two contests.

And yes, Artturi Lehkonen — not Nathan MacKinnon — leads the Avalanche in goals. Lehkonen has found the net nine times in 11 games, while MacKinnon continues to do MacKinnon things with seven goals and 13 assists for a team-high 20 points.

MacKinnon has two goals and four assists in his last five games against Nashville, while Martin Necas has recorded one goal and two assists over his last five meetings with the Predators. Lehkonen, meanwhile, has been a thorn in Nashville’s side throughout his career, piling up seven goals and seven assists against the Predators.

For Nashville, former Avalanche forward Ryan O’Reilly is coming off a hat trick against Colorado in the teams’ most recent meeting on January 16. Filip Forsberg has scored 20 career goals against the Avs in 43 games, including three in his last five, while Steven Stamkos has 12 goals against Colorado in 31 career matchups.

So, if the Avalanche defense was hoping for a quiet night, that probably isn’t happening.

The expected matchup in net is Scott Wedgewood against Justus Annunen, adding another layer of intrigue to an already familiar-feeling game.

The two goaltenders were traded for one another in a series of moves following Colorado’s acquisition of Mackenzie Blackwood in exchange for Alexandar Georgiev. Now, they’ll face off against their former organizations, with both looking to make their old teams regret letting them go.

Wedgewood has posted a 2.23 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in seven career games against Nashville, giving Colorado a steady option between the pipes. Annunen, meanwhile, lost his only career appearance against the Avalanche despite turning in a respectable .925 save percentage.

With former teammates on both sides, a couple of familiar goal scorers and a goaltending matchup with a little extra history, Sunday’s game has plenty of potential storylines.

The puck drops at 6 p.m. local time from Bridgestone Arena. And for Colton and Drury, it’s their first chance to show the Avalanche exactly what they’re missing.