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Colorado comes to town in 4th place overall in the league having won their last three games including a 5-3 win over the Maple Leafs after trailing 3-0 at the end of the first period. In January, Jared Bednard’s men have won five of their six games so far. The game will mark former Hab Jonathan Drouin’s return in Montreal. If he needed some time to find his footing in Colorado, Drouin is doing very well with the Avalanche these days. Thanks to the injuries sustained by his teammates, he’s currently skating on the Avs’ first line alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Will he be booed in his return? It remains to be seen, fans were pretty sympathetic once he opened up about his mental health issues, but some still aren’t at peace with the fact Marc Bergevin traded Mikhail Sergachev to the Lightning to acquire him all those years ago…Habs fans have a very good memory, just ask Zdeno Chara.

NATE. THE GWG. 🏔️

He completes the comeback for the @Avalanche! pic.twitter.com/863AF2f8TS

— NHL (@NHL) January 14, 2024

If Drouin will no doubt be in uniform, the same can’t be said about Arturri Lehkonen who’s been dealing with an upper body injury since mid-November. The Finn has tagged along for the road trip though and there he a possibility he could return to the line-up. He’s now a full participant in the team’s practice and is no longer wearing a no contact jersey. If he is back though, we know there will be no boos and jeers for him.

The Canadiens would do well to stay disciplined tonight as Colorado is 8th in the league when it comes to power play efficiency (25%). Once again, Nathan MacKinnon will be the man to watch, the center has got 69 points on the season already and is second in scoring league wise. Jake Allen, who’s faced the Avs 21 times in his career so far, will be in net. The veteran netminder has got a 18-9-6-3 record, a 2.42 GAA and a .920 SP throughout those 21 games.
Tonight, it will be the first meeting between the two sides since last March when the Avalanche won 8-4. Colorado has won the last five games and eight of the last 10. The Canadiens will visit the Avs in late March in the last duel for the season.

The Canadiens have a very busy week this week, after Colorado tonight, they’ll get back on the road to visit the Devils on Wednesday, the Senators on Thursday and the Bruins on Saturday, meaning that all three goaltenders should see some action.

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