Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, best friends and high-scoring linemates with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2012-13, will play against each other in an NHL game for the first time Saturday when the Avalanche continue their road trip in Tampa.
Here are the game notes.
"It'll be a little weird," MacKinnon told the Tampa Bay Times. "We always talked about making it to the NHL. It's been really quick, getting to play against each other in the NHL as teenagers."
MacKinnon made the jump one year earlier than Drouin. The first pick in the 2013 draft, MacKinnon had 24 goals and 39 assists last season and won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.
Drouin, the third overall pick by the Lightning in 2013, stayed with Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and had 29 goals and 79 assists in 46 regular-season games. He had 13 goals and 28 assists in 16 playoff games.
"I'm excited," Drouin said of playing against MacKinnon. "It's going to be a lot of fun."
Check out the full Times story.
MacKinnon has eight goals and 17 assists in 45 games this season. Drouin, who had one goal and two assists in two games with Syracuse in the AHL this year, has two goals and 16 assists in 35 games with the Lightning.
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For those who haven't seen it, here's Reto Berra scoring for Lake Erie in Friday's 5-1 win against Chicago. Berra also made 20 saves in his first start for the AHL team.
Cody McLeod will replace injured Borna Rendulic on the third line, skating with John Mitchell and Dennis Everberg. Rendulic sustained a broken left leg in the first period of the Avalanche's 4-2 win Thursday in Florida.
McLeod logged nearly 11 minutes of ice time against the Panthers and screened goalie Roberto Luongo when Nick Holden scored the tie-breaking power-play goal in the third period. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use McLeod more often on a power play that has gone 3-for-21 in the past eight games. He's one guy who is fearless when it comes to setting up in front of the net.
Marc-Andre Cliche, a healthy scratch Thursday, will center the fourth line with Max Talbot and Daniel Briere.
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The Avalanche (19-17-9, 47 points) are three points behind Los Angeles (20-14-10, 50 points), which has the second wild-card playoff spot in the West. The defending Stanley Cup champions have played one fewer game and have 19 regulation or overtime wins to 14 for the Avalanche. The Kings are home to Anaheim on Saturday.
Tampa Bay (28-14-4, 60 points) is first in the Atlantic Division and competing for first overall in the league. The Lightning have won six consecutive games at home where they're 17-4-1 for the season.
Here's the Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Alex Tanguay - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Dennis Everberg Max Talbot - Marc-Andre Cliche - Daniel Briere
DEFENSE Jan Hejda - Erik Johnson Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie Nick Holden - Brad Stuart
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Calvin Pickard