Colorado needs a reset after Nashville. The Predators were on the 2nd night of their own back-to-back and still beat a rested Avalanche team 6-2, with Ryan O'Reilly and Steven Stamkos scoring twice each. Nashville outshot Colorado 35-21 and led 5-1 after 2 periods. Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews scored the only Colorado goals, and the road offense stalled again. At 6-5-1 the Avalanche are 2-3 in their last 5, and it has looked like 2 different teams depending on where they play.
Home ice is the main reason for Colorado to feel good. The 2 wins in that stretch both came at Ball Arena, 5-2 over Pittsburgh and 6-3 over Tampa Bay, and both times the offense that went missing in Nashville and Philadelphia showed up. A Devils team playing its 2nd game in 2 nights is the kind of opponent that offense should be able to wear down. New Jersey had 2 days off between the Kings win and the trip to Dallas, so it should arrive with fresh legs. The second night in thin air is a different story.
Neither injury list is long, but both matter for depth. New Jersey has been without defenseman Seamus Casey, who had a knee procedure and is out 6-8 weeks. Trading Mercer also took a forward out of a lineup that had been rolling, and Keefe will have to cover that spot. Colorado is down center Nicolas Roy and left wing Zachary L'Heureux, which thins out the bottom of the forward group. That hurts in a game where the visitors' legs should be the main variable late.
The Dallas game decides a lot. If New Jersey has to use Allen there, Wednesday's net could go to the backup or to a Hellebuyck who hasn't faced live NHL shots in more than 6 months. If the Devils come out of Texas healthy, the rematch is a fair test of whether their hot October is real. Colorado just needs to look like the team it has been at home and not the one that got pushed around in Nashville.