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Avalanche GameDay: Parise, Lehkonen Out Against Canucks
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche GameDay: Parise, Lehkonen Out Against Canucks

Originally posted on The Avs Report  |  By Ryan Sikes  |  Last updated 3/13/24

Fresh off their 6-2 win in Calgary on Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche are back in action on Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks.

A few notes on tonight’s matchup.

Zach Parise and Artturi Lehkonen will not play on Wednesday. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar indicated that both could be options for Saturday’s game in Edmonton. It’s encouraging to hear that neither’s injury appears to be serious.

Alexandar Georgiev is the logical starter tonight. The 28-year-old is 3-3-0 with a 0.930 SV% and 2.20 GAA in six career appearances against Vancouver. Two of those wins came earlier this year, including a 24 of 25 performance on Feb. 20.

Add Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov to the latest former Avalanche in awe of Nathan MacKinnon‘s play this season.

The Avalanche have not had a back-to-back since that awful six-game road trip to begin the second half. If you recall, Colorado dropped the first game in overtime against the Rangers before falling 5-3 to the Devils the following night. The Avalanche will have just one more back-to-back in April against Minnesota and Edmonton.

All. Hail. Cale. Cale Makar is expected to skate in his 300th career game tonight. The 25-year-old’s 317 points are the second-most by a defenseman through their first 300 games, trailing only Bobby Orr (341).

Tonight’s opponent, the Canucks are tied for second overall in the NHL standings. Vancouver has the most wins (34) when leading after two periods. They have opened the scoring a league-leading 43 times and have the most wins (31) when scoring first. 

With Thatcher Demko out week-to-week per Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, Casey DeSmith is the expected starter for Vancouver tonight. The 32-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.954 SV% and 1.94 GAA in two previous appearances against the Avalanche.

DeSmith has not faced Colorado since February of last year, when he was still with the Penguins. In that game, he stopped 41 of 42 shots on net.

The Canucks are 23-11-3 versus Western Conference opponents this season. Meanwhile, the Avs are 27-9-3. 

Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. MT. Grab your coffee.

(Featured Image Credit: Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

This article first appeared on The Avs Report and was syndicated with permission.

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