After a homestand that saw the Thrashers go 5-1-0 and outscoring opponents 20-5 during that stand, the Thrashers take their act on the road, hoping to drum up two points in Colorado against the Avalanche. All time, the Thrashers are 4-2-0-1 against the Avalanche in Colorado, which is better than they do against them at home. Last season, the Thrashers lost 4-3 in overtime to the Avs in Colorado.
Ondrej Pavelec will be in net for yet another start - his seventh in a row. During that time period he's allowed three goals and posted two shut outs. Peter Budaj will be starting in net for the Avs. Pavelec has played in close to the same number of games as Budaj but has significantly better stats. Both teams have 27 points, and both are clinging to a playoff spot. The fact that this is between the two conferences won't make a loss any less frustrating, especially for the Thrashers who are trying to go for six straight for the first time since March of 2009.
The Stewart Brothers will have to wait on their epic battle.Avalanche forward Chris Stewart broke his hand in a fight against Kyle Brodziak earlier this week and will be out for four to six weeks. The next time these two teams meet up is December 10th at Philips Arena, so the duel will have to wait.
Worth noting are the Avalanche's two new acquisitions. The trade made today for Tomas Fleischmann with the Capitals that sent big d-man Scott Hannan won't be felt much tonight by the Thrashers, at least not where Fleischmann is concerned - he won't play tonight. An opponent from the last game will be out there, though. Matt Hunwick, Evander Kane's fight partner on Sunday, was traded on Monday to the Avalanche by the Bruins for BU player Colby Cohen. The Bruins needed to clear cap space, so it looks like Hunwick might get a chance for a rematch.
The game is a late start, at 10:00, in Colorado and can be seen on SportSouth.