The Colorado Avalanche are hosting the Calgary Flames on Halloween at Ball Arena, and for Colorado it is the first home game on that date in twenty-four years. It is also a rematch that comes with a different look on the blue line after Josh Manson was ruled out for eight weeks with an ankle injury.
That is why the matchup lands now. Colorado opened the season series by beating Calgary 7-3 on October 08, then followed that with a 5-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, a result that included Nicolas Roy returning after missing the previous six games and picking up an assist on Nazem Kadri’s go-ahead goal in the second period. The Avalanche have another chance to keep building before they leave for a back-to-back road stretch that starts Monday in Chicago and continues the next day in Columbus.
Calgary is arriving with a very different recent story than the one it brought to the first meeting. The Flames have won five of their previous six games after losing six of their first seven, and their most recent four-game homestand ended with a sweep that included victories over Minnesota, Toronto and the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. For a team that looked stuck early, that run has changed the shape of the rematch.
Colorado’s own concern is less about the opponent’s surge than the hole Manson leaves behind. Noah Juulsen has played eight games for Colorado this season and is the most direct answer to the gap, with Jared Bednar saying he likes Juulsen’s attitude and needs him while Manson is out. Bednar also said it helps to have a defenseman already in the group each day rather than bringing in a recall and spending time getting him up to speed.
That makes tonight more than a Halloween curiosity. The Avalanche are trying to keep pace at the top end of the standings, and a win could move them within one point of second-place Utah. Mackenzie Blackwood, who stopped twenty of twenty-two shots against New Jersey and earned his sixth win of the season, is part of why Colorado can still press ahead even as the roster tightens. The game is set to be carried on ALT, ALT+, +, NHL Center Ice, SN and SN+, and heard on Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM.
