{"id":9634,"date":"2025-01-08T12:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T12:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9634"},"modified":"2025-01-08T12:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T12:53:09","slug":"preview-colorado-avalanche-face-chicago-blackhawks-in-inter-divisional-tilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=9634","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW: Colorado Avalanche face Chicago Blackhawks in inter-divisional tilt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Colorado Avalanche face the Chicago Blackhawks in an inter-divisional tilt that promises to be an entertaining matchup between two clubs in different places.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9635\" src=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/01jh2w2ccm2fxava44vk.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/01jh2w2ccm2fxava44vk.webp 1080w, https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/01jh2w2ccm2fxava44vk-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/01jh2w2ccm2fxava44vk-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/01jh2w2ccm2fxava44vk-768x432.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Colorado Avalanche take on the Chicago Blackhawks in what promises to be an entertaining tilt. | Matthew Stockman\/GettyImages<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">The Colorado Avalanche will pay a visit to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at the United Center. Both clubs are trending in different directions, telling the story of their seasons.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">So, let\u2019s take a look at what to expect between these two clubs on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-2\"><strong>Colorado Avalanche vs Chicago Blackhawks preview<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 id=\"inline-text-3\">Last 10 games<\/h3>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\">The Colorado Avalanche (25-15-1) are tied with the Dallas Stars for third in the Central Division. The Stars are technically third as the Avs have played two more games than the Stars and have two more losses.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\">In their last 10, the Avalanche are 8-1-1 and seem to finally be morphing into the team everyone expected them to be at the start of this season. The Avs have a firm grip on the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference, notching a six-point lead over the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehockeynews.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjAzMDUwMTMxNzc0MjUyNjEx\/usatsi_22142949_168400956_lowres.jpg\" alt=\"Colorado Avalanche loss to Chicago Blackhawks was self-inflicted, Devon  Toews says some players lack 'self-awareness' - The Hockey News Colorado  Avalanche News, Analysis and More\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\">While nothing is guaranteed, the Avalanche look like a solid pick to make the postseason against this year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\">Meanwhile, the Blackhawks (13-25-2) are once again at the bottom of the standings. The hope in Chicago was that the team could take the next step in their rebuild and climb out of the cellar. However, that has not been the case.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\">The Blackhawks fired Luke Richardson earlier this season, signaling the team is not headed in the right direction. Chicago looks destined for another top-five lottery pick. So, it remains to be seen if they\u2019ll land the top pick for the second time in three seasons.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"inline-text-9\"><strong>Players to watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">For the Colorado Avalanche, the players to watch are the team\u2019s two Hart Trophy candidates. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon have been money in the bank all season and will look to continue leading the club.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">MacKinnon is poised for the Art Ross Trophy while Makar looks to have the inside track on the Norris. As discussed in this piece, both players could get Hart nominations this season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\">Beyond Makar and MacKinnon, the new-look fourth line should continue to get attention. Newcomer Juuso Parssinen looks to stick with the Avs as the club gives Tye Felhbaer and Jere Innala a shot at sticking in that fourth-line role.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\">I can\u2019t help but think the Avs may dip their toes in the trade pool at the trade deadline and pick up various depth forwards to fill out that fourth line.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/8qvHD9r_Q_NBRWZ01mULZFDhApY=\/0x0:3952x2634\/1200x800\/filters:focal(1660x1001:2292x1633)\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_image\/image\/72981314\/1868694876.0.jpg\" alt=\"Recap: Colorado Avalanche get Mrazek'd vs. Chicago Blackhawks - Mile High  Hockey\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\">For Blackhawks, Connor Bedard is the player to watch. He\u2019s been one of the best young players in the league. His performance this season hasn\u2019t been overly convincing. Still, he projects to be the Blackhawks\u2019 franchise player.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"inline-text-15\">Prediction<\/h3>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\">While I don\u2019t necessarily like to predict outcomes, it seems the Avs should skate away with the two points in this one. The Blackhawks don\u2019t seem like they can overcome such a talented team that\u2019s on a roll right now.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\">The Avs should cruise in this game, but don\u2019t be surprised if the Blackhawks try to make the game interesting, particularly in the third period.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Colorado Avalanche face the Chicago Blackhawks in an inter-divisional tilt that promises to be an entertaining matchup between two clubs in different places<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks","category-nfl","category-san-francisco-49ers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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