The Colorado Avalanche remain without key forward Valeri Nichushkin, and that absence is going to continue for longer than expected.

The St. Louis Blues visit the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, and both teams are trying to break out of slumps. St. Louis (23-24-4) has lost three in a row, falling further back in the Western Conference playoff race as the NHL season heads toward the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Plus the Panthers’ declining rush game, extreme special teams in Vegas and a couple of goalies who are deserving of some recognition.

The St. Louis Blues visit the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night, and both teams are trying to break out of slumps.

The dust is still settling on the deal that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes. However, the question marks that still exist regarding Rantanen's future in the NHL (i.

Jared Bednar has been known to rely heavily on his top forwards, often overplaying the top line to the point where some nights you wouldn't know the Avalanche were even dressing 12 forwards. That was not the case in Sunday's 5-4 win over the New York Rangers.

Though the Colorado Avalanche have already played a game (and lost to the Boston Bruins) since the NHL was rocked, they are still clearly recovering in the wake of the massive trade that saw forward Mikko Rantanen shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Following a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday, the Avalanche return home with all kinds of issues that need to be sorted out. Their depth has struggled to produce, the inconsistencies on defense are glaring,

Your look at trends in fantasy hockey with goalie, power-play and droppable notes, with a focus on shots generated by top lines.

Over the weekend, the Colorado Avalanche dealt Mikko Rantanen and address just one of the team's many problems.

The Washington Capitals signed goalie Logan Thompson to a six-year extension. Follow this tracker for the latest NHL news.

I didn’t think this would need to be updated so quickly. But when a historic mid-season trade between two contenders (and Chicago) breaks on a Friday night, things change.