For the second year in a row, the Avs will face the St. Louis Blues in the playoffs. Last season the Avs took out the Blues in one clean sweep (pun intended) in the First Round. This will be the third time for the Avs to take on the Blues in the playoffs, having ousted them in five games during the 2001campaign, advancing to the Stanly Cup Finals.
The Avalanche are entering their fourth consecutive year in the Western Conference Semifinals against a team they haven’t lost to since the home-opener at Ball Arena on October 16. This year, the two teams met in three contests, where the Avs won the final two games and went 2-1 in the season. Their last match-up came in the regular season's final week, with the Avs skating away with a 5-3 victory. However, the Avs blew a three-goal lead and allowed former Av Ryan O’Reilly two goals late in the third to give the Blues hope. Thankfully, Kadri put one in the empty net, and the Avs ended both their four-game losing slump and the Blues’16-game point streak. The Blues are a strong team with a 2019 Stanley Cup-winning experience. This season, they finished with 49-22-11 and 109 points for the third-seed in the Central Division. The Blues upset the second-seeded Minnesota Wild in six games to advance to Round 2.
The Blues are a tough, physical team with a lot of depth and will be looking for redemption after their quick exit last season. Former Conn Smythe winner O’Reilly scored five goals in the previous series, as did Tarasenko and Perron, who was out during the series last year. Another familiar name on the line-up is #20 Brandon Saad, who had seven goals for the Avs last post-season and signed with the Blues in the offseason.
After missing Game 4 due to a facial injury sustained in Game 3, Kuemper is ready to take the ice for the Avs. Despite this being the second time a stick has injured him through the mask, he said he has no plans of changing helmets. Jordan Binnington stepped in as the Blues’ netminder after Ville Husso lost two consecutive games to Minnesota. Binnington went 3-0, allowing five goals on 88 shots.
This week will mark the anniversary of Nazem Kadri’s eight-game suspension after an illegal hit to the head that led to Blue’s defenseman Justin Faulk’s concussion, which caused him to miss the next game. It was the sixth time Kadri had been suspended, totaling 16 playoff and 11 regular-season games missed. Due to the Avs’ elimination, Kadri missed the remainder of the playoffs, but Kadri entered this season with a fresh mindset. He has had a career-high season with 87 regular-season points and has one goal and two assists in the post-season.
I am sure the telecasters will make a big deal out of the match-up between Kadri and Faulk, looking for any signs of bad blood. However, the two duked it out back in October, and in hockey, that usually means it's over. There is too much at stake in these games for there to be any pointless drama. And if the Blues decide they want to have it out for Kadri, they will likely only find themselves in the box. Kadri has proven himself this year and will not compromise himself or the team.
Everyone is asking if the Avs can make it past this round, but the ones who aren’t talking about it are the Avs themselves. Yes, they have been eliminated three years in a row in this round, but if you look at the roster from 2019, when they first lost to San Jose, you won’t see many familiar names. The Avs were a young, inexperienced team that relied on speed and skill but lacked the physical depth needed to endure in the playoffs. The Avs are a different team now than they were even a year ago. O’Reilly stated that he believes the Blues are a better team this year, which may be true, but so are the Avs.
Avs in six.