Detroit's goaltending question is settled. John Gibson is ready to return from the lower-body injury he picked up against Tampa Bay, but Daniil Tarasov gets the start anyway, with Michal Postava backing up. He earned it. Tarasov made 32 saves against Vegas and beat his former team in a 5-3 win over Florida, and among goalies with 5 or more starts his 1.79 GAA is tied with Igor Shesterkin for third-lowest in the league, with a .929 save percentage that ranks second. Mason Appleton and Marco Kasper are both working back from upper-body injuries and could return at some point on this 4-game road trip, while Albert Johansson is also on the injury list. Puck drop is 7:00 PM MT.
The bigger problem for Detroit is offense. After the Florida game the Red Wings scored 2 in a 4-2 loss at Tampa Bay and then 1 against Vegas, and the Vegas game went 2 periods without a goal. Colorado's best run this season was 3 straight 5-2 wins over New Jersey, Calgary and Chicago. If this turns into a game where the first team to 4 wins, the Avalanche have shown they can get there and the Red Wings haven't lately.
Colorado's own concern is on defense. Josh Manson hurt his ankle in that 5-2 win over the Devils, when he fell awkwardly after missing a body check in the 1st period. Jared Bednar has said he'll be out about 8 weeks. Manson is 35, has 4 points in 13 games, was playing nearly 17 minutes a night and leads the club in hits. Colorado won its next 2 without him, then gave up 7 at Columbus and lost in overtime at home to Nashville. Zachary L'Heureux is also still on injured reserve and isn't expected back until the end of the month.
The Nashville loss had some encouraging parts. Colorado fell behind 2-1 in the 1st, tied it in the 2nd and outshot the Predators 30-24 through regulation. The 3rd period was scoreless and the game went to overtime. The Avalanche got plenty of chances. What hurt them was a slow start and, in the Columbus game, coverage that fell apart. Those are the kinds of mistakes a physical defenseman like Manson used to clean up.
The likely shape of this game is Detroit trying to keep it close and low-scoring with Tarasov in net, and Colorado trying to make it a track meet at home. Whichever team gets its version probably wins, and the Red Wings haven't had a goalie problem lately. Their problem has been scoring goals.
