No. 7 Coyotes vs. No. 2 Avalanche
5:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, TVAS, ALT, FS-A PLUS, FS-A
Darcy Kuemper will start for the Arizona Coyotes against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar didn't announce whether Philipp Grubauer or Pavel Francouz would be in net.
Kuemper went 3-1 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .933 save percentage against the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, making 49 saves in a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Aug. 7 in Edmonton, the West hub city.
The Avalanche were 2-0-1 in the round-robin portion of the Qualifiers. Grubauer went 1-0-1 with a 2.45 GAA and .914 save percentage against the St. Louis Blues (Aug. 2; 2-1 win) and Vegas Golden Knights (Aug. 8; 4-3 shootout loss). Francouz made 27 saves in a 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars on Aug. 5.
Arizona went 1-0-1 against Colorado (1-1-0) in two regular-season games.
"We're a hungry team and we have lots to prove," Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. "For me, this feels like my first real chance to win, which really excites me. It excites everyone. This is my fourth playoffs, third straight with everyone else. I feel good and hopefully I can be a key guy in the first round."
Teams that win Game 1 are 478-219 (68.6 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series.
Here are 3 keys for Game 1:
1. Relying on Kuemper
Kuemper is 4-1-2 in eight games against Colorado with a 1.80 GAA, a .931 save percentage and three shutouts.
"He's definitely one of the best goalies, if not the best goalie, that I've ever had in my career," Arizona defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. "A huge part of our team, probably the biggest part of our team. That's how we've been winning hockey games this year, with good defense and being quick when we get turnovers and stuff. He's been unbelievable ever since I've been here, and we have [Antti Raanta] too, another great goalie, so we're pretty spoiled in that department."
2. Keep MacKinnon in check
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said MacKinnon is X-factor No. 1 of the series. A finalist for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the player voted NHL MVP, MacKinnon scored three points (one goal, two assists) in three round-robin games after finishing fifth in the League with 93 points (35 goals, 58 assists) in 69 games. He has 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) in 25 NHL playoff games.
"I'm not sure you can just shut him down," Tocchet said. "I'm not even sure you can have one guy shut him down, but you have to limit his chances. He's outstanding off the rush, great at countering mistakes. You make a mistake he can counter very well."
3. Respect for Coyotes
Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog expects a difficult series.
"Arizona's a good team, no doubt," he said. "They're a very defensive-structured team, well coached. They have a lot of skill up front. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is one of the best defensemen in the League. We'll have our hands full, no doubt. We should definitely respect them."
Tocchet said the Avalanche are built to win right now.
"I hope they take us lightly, but I don't think they will," he said.
Coyotes projected lineup
Taylor Hall -- Christian Dvorak -- Phil Kessel
Clayton Keller -- Derek Stepan -- Conor Garland
Lawson Crouse -- Carl Soderberg -- Christian Fischer
Michael Grabner -- Brad Richardson -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Alex Goligoski -- Niklas Hjalmarsson
Jakob Chychrun -- Jordan Oesterle
Darcy Kuemper
Adin Hill
Scratched: Brayden Burke, Kyle Capobianco, Michael Chaput, Hudson Fasching, Jordan Gross, Barrett Hayton, Ilya Lyubushkin, Aaron Ness, Victor Soderstrom
Unfit to play: Antti Raanta, Nick Schmaltz
Avalanche projected lineup
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nazem Kadri -- Valeri Nichushkin
Andre Burakovsky -- J.T. Compher -- Joonas Donskoi
Tyson Jost -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Matt Calvert
Philipp Grubauer
Pavel Francouz
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Shane Bowers, Bowen Byram, Kevin Connauton, Sheldon Dries, Michael Hutchinson, Anton Lindholm, Matt Nieto, Logan O'Connor, Conor Timmins, T.J. Tynan
Unfit to play: Colin Wilson
Status report
Tocchet said Schmaltz and Raanta practiced Tuesday. Schmaltz, a forward, didn't play against Nashville and will be a game-time decision. Raanta is improving but is not ready to play.
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