Now that the Avalanche have clinched a Stanley Cup playoff berth, they can concentrate on their pursuit of first place in the West Division.
The Avalanche (31-9-4, 66 points) are second, two points behind Vegas (33-11-2) with two games in hand.
They play the second of a three-game set in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon while the Golden Knights play in Anaheim Saturday night.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate, so it wasn’t known whether Devan Dubnyk, who’s won two straight starts against the Blues, or Jonas Johansson would be in goal. The guess here is Dubnyk.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer was removed from the NHL's COVID-protocol list on Friday, but he isn’t expected to join the team on this trip, which ends Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Coach Jared Bednar said earlier that he wasn’t about to rush Grubauer into a game, that he needed to do some cardio work and get in some practice time before starting.
The Avalanche need one win to become the sixth team in the past 25 years to reach the 1,000 mark
They’ve won five in a row against the Blues since dropping a 4-1 decision to them opening night, have won five straight overall and are 18-1-2 in the past 21 games.
The projected lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Andre Burakovsky Carl Soderberg -- Nazem Kadri -- J.T. Compher Brandon Saad -- Tyson Jost -- Valeri Nichushkin Liam O’Brien -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Martin Kaut
DEFENSE Devon Toews -- Samuel Girard Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar Patrik Nemeth -- Conor Timmins
GOALIES Devan Dubnyk Jonas Johansson