By Eric Smith
FOX Sports Ohio
November 9, 2010
What could the Blue Jackets do for an encore after the 8-1 beatdown of the St. Louis Blues? Anything similar to the game against the Blues would be a pipe dream. Or is it?
The Avalanche have four of their top six defensemen on the shelf because of injuries. A total of 10 roster players are injured and the Avs are hoping to get one of them back tonight, as left winger David Jones returns to action. Add in the fact that Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj has a goals-against average of 4.21 on the road this year, and the fans might seeing a lot more cannon fire.
Colorado isn't afraid of a high-scoring game as much as they are of the fourth-ranked offense in the NHL with a 3.29 goal average per game. They lean heavily on their top forwards to bury the biscuit, especially Chris Stewart's team-leading 10 goals. Milan Hejduk (five goals, 10 assists) and Paul Stastny (five goals, nine assists) also are dangerous at scoring and also setting up others to pop the puck in the net.
Last year's super rookie Matt Duchene is off to a slow sophomore year with just two goals, but he has nine assists. He is a kid with speed and skill that could bust out at any point.
From the back end, John-Michael Liles has eleven assists already for the Avalanche, but he hasn't scored in his last five games.
What Blue Jackets Scott Arniel knows after the beating that Columbus took in Denver late in October is that his team has to take the action to the Avs.
