Game Preview: Drouin to Sit for Blackhawks Game Due to Injury

The Avalanche look to be lining up 11 forwards and 7 defensemen against the last-place Chicago Blackhawks. Tonight’s game is their first of three games on their first road trip of 2025. This is in light of an announcement from the team that forward Jonathan Drouin would not be playing due to an upper-body injury. Calvin de Haan will dress as the seventh defenseman.

In addition to that news, Bednar confirmed this morning that goaltender Trent Miner will get his first NHL start. Miner was called up in lieu of goaltender Scott Wedgewood’s injury during the team’s game against Buffalo last Thursday. Bednar said Miner would get one of the starts during the team’s back-to-back this week and looks to be throwing him in to start things off for the Avalanche on the road.

This is the second of four matchups between the division rivals, the last game ending in a 5-2 loss for the Avalanche.

To keep things short and sweet, only touching on two points before tonight’s game.

A Blue-Line Bonanza

Everyone knows the talent that Cale Makar brings to the team every night, but someone that sometimes seems to go under the radar – up until lately, that is – is his partner, Devon Toews.

The Abbotsford, British Columbia native has been dealing with an injury since the beginning of the season, but nothing dire enough to keep him out of the lineup. Bednar earlier this season gave the defenseman a lot of praise, saying that Toews at his current status is still better than some defensemen in the league at 100%, which is why he’s continued to play him.

Toews, in his last four games, has tallied seven points (4g/3a), two of those goals being game-winners in 2 of the team’s 3 last contests.

The Avalanche are currently tied for fifth in the league (with the Carolina Hurricanes) for goals by defensemen this season, at 23. That production from the blue line is crucial to finding the win column for this team, especially when coupled with the elite offense often times in front of them.

Let the Moose Loose

Forward Mikko Rantanen is currently on a 14-game point streak, which almost looked to be coming to an end until his empty-netter during Monday’s contest against the Florida Panthers.