Colorado Avalanche play St. Louis Blues in critical Central Division matchup

The Colorado Avalanche will visit the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center on Saturday evening in a critical Central Division matchup. The scorching Blues enter Saturday evening’s game riding an 11-game winning streak. That streak includes a 2-1 over the Avs last Saturday night.

As for the Avs, they’ve hit their stride at the right time this season. They’re 7-2-1 in the last 10 games, and riding a two-game winning streak of their own. The Avs are coming off a huge 7-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets in which the Avalanche officially punched their postseason ticket.

As such, Saturday’s tilt is more about jockeying for position at this point. While the Blues have yet to officially lock up their postseason ticket, they’re looking good.

The Blues sit in the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with 91 points. They are two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild and seven points ahead of the Calgary Flames. So, it seems the Blues are poised to make the playoffs.

With that in mind, the Avalanche will be looking to cool off the Blues, and, most importantly, distance themselves further from Blues in the Central Division. A Blues’ win over the Avalanche would close the gap to five points for third place.

In contrast, an Avalanche regulation win would widen the gap between the two clubs, opening up a nine-point advantage for Colorado.

Necas, Drouin remain questionable for Colorado Avalanche game against St. Louis Blues

Martin Necas remains questionable for Saturday’s tilt against the St. Louis Blues. Necas missed the Avs’ last game in Columbus with an undisclosed illness.

Avs Altitude voice Conor McGahey initially reported Necas’ absence from the lineup on Thursday in Columbus.

While Necas has not shown any signs of an injury, he remains questionable, nonetheless. It would appear that Necas could be a game-time decision, hopefully rejoining Brock Nelson on the Avs’ second line.

Similarly, McGahey reported that Jonathan Drouin would miss Thursday’s game against Columbus. According to reports, Drouin is dealing with a lower-body injury. The nature of the injury is not known at this time.

However, both Necas and Drouin are listed as day-to-day. So, there’s hope they could suit up for the critical game against the Blues on Saturday.

Although, given the fact that the Avalanche have already clinched a playoff spot, and third place seems relatively safe, there’s no need to rush Drouin or Necas back to the lineup.