Denver, Colo. – The first night of two this regular season have arrived. The Dallas Stars are in town for the first time since handing the Colorado Avalanche a first-round exit from the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the return of the Stars comes the return of Mikko Rantanen, who played a big role – if not the biggest – in that playoff exit with a natural hat trick in Game 7.
Fear not, though, as there are many more storylines heading into tonight’s game.
Head Coach Jared Bednar began his press conference this morning by telling the media that Ilya Solovyov will be making his debut in burgundy and blue.
With his debut comes bad news: Sam Girard will be out week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Other than that change on defense, none of the forward lines will change for the Avalanche, meaning Zakhar Bardakov will be a healthy scratch once again, Parker Kelly will center the fourth line, and Gavin Brindley will get yet another look in the NHL.
With that said, Scott Wedgewood will occupy the crease again tonight for Colorado after an almost shutdown performance against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
Jake Oettinger will start in net for the Stars on the other side of the ice.
Only seven defensemen have ever gotten to the 1,500-game milestone in their careers. Tonight, Brent Burns will become the eighth.
“It’s impressive to hit 1,000. Every game after that, it’s a bonus, I’m sure. Now, he’s at 1,500, it’s hard to do, especially when you – they’re not easy minutes that he plays. He’s an older guy now… The streak he has of games he’s played in a row. It’s part of the reason he’s been able to hit 1,500, to be able to play the way he does, as physically as he does, and to be able to stay healthy for as long as he has, it’s amazing.”
– Coach Bednar on Burns hitting 1,500 NHL games played
Burns was drafted by the Minnesota Wild back in 2003 (20th overall). Since then, he’s played with the Wild, the San Jose Sharks, the Carolina Hurricanes, and now, the Colorado Avalanche.
In that span of time, Burns has tallied 910 points (261g/649a), taken a total of 4,057 shots, and collected 857 PIMs.
Puck Drop: 7:08 pm Mountain Time
Avalanche T.V. Broadcast: Altitude Sports Network
Avalanche Radio Broadcast: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM
Dallas T.V. Broadcast: Victory+
Dallas Radio Broadcast: The Ticket 96.7-FM, 1310-AM
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