Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Boedker, Gelinas set for debuts

March 1, 2016, 3:01 PM ET [53 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Forward Mikkel Boedker and defenseman Eric Gelinas will make their Avalanche debuts Tuesday in Minnesota in the team's most important game to date.

Here are the GAME NOTES.

Boedker, acquired Monday from Arizona, will skate with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Gelinas will replace Andrew Bodnarchuk on the pairing with Chris Bigras.

The Avalanche (32-28-4, 68 points) have a two-point lead on the Wild (28-25-10, 66 points) for the second wild card playoff position in the West but have played one more game. They have one more regulation/overtime win (29-28), the first tiebreaker once the season ends.

"We're neck and neck with them," Jarome Iginla said. "So far it's our biggest game of the year. In saying that I don't think we should be tight. It's exciting, it's where we want to be. All the games are fun, but these ones are even more fun. It's a way to kick off the last month of the season."

The Avalanche are coming off a 5-6-1 February that followed successful months in December (9-3-2) and January (9-5-0).

They will need a much better game from goalie Semyon Varlamov than he delivered in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Detroit in the Stadium Series game at Coors Field when he allowed four goals on 27 shots, three goals in the third period. He permitted eight goals on 55 shots in his past two starts, both losses.

The Avalanche power play, which went 0-for-3 without a shot on goal against the Red Wings, should get a boost from Boedker and Gelinas, the latter of whom has a booming shot from the point. Eighteen of Boedker's 39 points with the Coyotes came on power plays. Colorado has gone 2-for-22 with the man advantage in the past seven games.

Alex Tanguay is one of the very good guys in sports and I hope he does well with the Coyotes, but Boedker is 10 years younger and gives MacKinnon the kind of speedy winger that he's never really had since joining the Avalanche.

That being said, Boedker has one goal (and 10 assists) in 27 games since he scored in overtime to give Arizona a 2-1 win at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 27. Coyotes general manager Don Maloney told the Arizona Republic that Boedker's contract situation -- he's eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1 -- probably affected his play.

"The first half of the season, Mikkel was having a very strong season," Maloney said. "The second half, he's had his struggles. It's not unlike (Tampa Bay's) Steven Stamkos. I think about him where he was having some contract distractions. They took it away. He's back to who Steven Stamkos is. I do think contract discussions for the last couple months have affected (Boedker's) game. But we know at the end of the day, he's a good player. He will be free in July, and maybe he'll talk to us."

To his credit, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic essentially said he's taking a wait-and-see approach regarding Boedker and contract talks. That wasn't the case with goalie Reto Berra, who will spend the rest of the season in San Antonio, and defenseman Brad Stuart, who probably will miss the rest of the year after undergoing back surgery.

The 6-foot-4 Gelinas, 24, is signed through next season, after which he would be eligible for restricted free agency. He was a healthy scratch the past nine games in New Jersey, 28 times overall this year.

Gelinas had seven goals and 22 assists in 60 games with the Devils as a rookie in 2013-14, with six goals and 13 assists in 61 games last season. He has one goal and five assists in 34 games this year.

"My first year I had fairly good success on the power play and my No. 1 thing is to shoot the puck," Gelinas told Sportsnet. "That's something that's important on the power play nowadays. All the goals are scored from point shots and traffic in front of the net.

"That's my biggest asset, so hopefully I get a chance to play (in Colorado) and to use that shot. That's something that I've always had in my game, and I want to keep it that way."

Gelinas will get his chance starting Tuesday.

*****

Didn't get a chance to talk to Tanguay before he left the practice facility Monday. This was his initial reaction to the trade, as told to the Arizona Republic:

"I was surprised a little bit and then not at the same time but very excited. This is a team that’s very well coached. I’m looking forward to go there and prove that I can help the team.”

The Coyotes, who have lost six games in a row, don't play until Thursday, at home against Anaheim.

*****

The Wild have gone 5-3-0 under coach John Torchetti, who replaced Mike Yeo following a 4-2 loss to Boston on Feb. 13 . The Wild were 1-11-2 in their final 14 games with Yeo. They won four in a row after the coaching change, followed by three consecutive losses. The Wild defeated Florida 3-1 on Sunday.

The Avalanche lost two of the first three games against the Wild this season, starting with the 5-4 meltdown defeat in the opener at the Pepsi Center. Minnesota won 3-0 at home Dec. 5 and the Avalanche won 2-1 in overtime two nights later at home.

They'll play more one time, March 26 in Denver.

*****

Here's the Avalanche's lineup:

FORWARDS
Mikhail Grigorenko - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikkel Boedker
Shawn Matthias - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Jack Skille

DEFENSE
Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson
Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie
Chris Bigras - Eric Gelinas

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard



Join the Discussion: » 53 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Rick Sadowski
» One-year deal for Johansson
» One more postseason disappointment
» Bednar cleared to coach tonight; MacKinnon Hart finalist
» Cale Makar a Norris Trophy finalist
» Jost: Do or die Game 5 tonight; Kadri suspension upheld