DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche host the St. Louis Blues tonight in a matchup of the Western Conference's top two teams at the Pepsi Center. Puck-drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
"We've got the best team in the Western Conference coming in here, a team we haven't been great against, haven't been able to put a full 60 minutes against," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. "It's a great test, opportunity to get this thing rolling again in the right direction."
Despite dropping 6-of-8 games, the Avalanche are still in second place overall with a 23-13-4 record. On the other end, the defending Stanley Cup Champions are red-hot, having won 8-of-10 contests and lead the Avs by eight points in the division and conference with a 26-9-6 record.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season, with Colorado falling by 5-2 and 3-1 finals in St. Louis this season.
"We got respect for them but we know we're a good hockey team as well," Avalanche captain and forward Gabriel Landeskog said. "We've seen the pre-scout this morning, we know what we're facing. We know that's a good hockey team but we've got to go out and play. Bring on our best effort tonight, no doubt about it."
"It's a good test for us, everyone is looking forward to it, it's a good challenge and everyone is excited to play," Avalanche defenseman Ryan Graves said.
