Avalanche Vs Blues: Colorado seeks West clinch in rematch
The Avalanche Vs Blues rematch is set for Monday in St. Louis, where Colorado gets another shot to clinch the top seed in the West after a 3-2 loss on Sunday in Denver. The Avalanche Vs Blues meeting carries clear stakes for both sides: Colorado wants to lock up the conference, while St. Louis needs points to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Projected lineups bring key returns
Colorado’s forward group is expected to feature Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas on the top line, with Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin together behind them. A third unit of Nicolas Roy, Nazem Kadri and Logan O’Connor is also listed, and Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Parker Kelly round out the four lines.
Roy and Nichushkin are both expected to play. Roy missed seven games with an upper-body injury, while Nichushkin sat out Sunday’s 3-2 loss with a lower-body injury. That gives Colorado a deeper look for a game it needs to handle cleanly, especially in an Avalanche Vs Blues matchup that has already shifted once in St. Louis’s favor.
Blues keep the same group after Sunday
St. Louis is set to use the same lineup it rolled out Sunday. The Blues are projected to open with Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud, followed by Jonathan Drouin, Dalibor Dvorsky and Jordan Kyrou. Jake Neighbours, Pius Suter and Jonatan Berggren form another line, while Alexey Toropchenko, Jack Finley and Pavel Buchnevich complete the forward group.
For the Blues, the focus stays on recent momentum and on keeping the pressure on in a must-win setting. Robert Thomas remains the key name after his first career hat trick against Colorado on Sunday, and St. Louis is leaning on the same lineup in hopes of repeating that result.
What the rematch means now
The broader picture is straightforward. Colorado is in position to clinch the top seed in the West, while St. Louis is still outside the Western Conference wild card picture and needs every available point. That makes the Avalanche Vs Blues rematch less about style and more about execution under pressure.
One lineup question in Colorado has centered on Valeri Nichushkin, but the latest setup has him in. On the St. Louis side, the same group is expected to carry the load again after Sunday’s breakthrough. The next shift in this Avalanche Vs Blues series will decide whether Colorado closes in on the conference top spot or whether St. Louis can extend its push a little longer.
