In the years the Chicago Blackhawks were annual Stanley Cup contenders Tuukka Rask Jersey , the Colorado Avalanche seemed to find ways to beat them despite being a perennial lottery team.The script is flipped this season and it’s the Blackhawks who are struggling while the Avalanche are near the top of the Western Conference standings. Chicago can play the role Colorado did for a few years when the two teams meet at Pepsi Center in Denver on Friday night.The Avalanche have a little advantage going into the matchup. Chicago played in Dallas on Thursday night — a 5-2 win over the Stars — so it will be on the second night of a back-to-back against a relatively rested Colorado team. The Avalanche, however, will be shorthanded on defense. Nikita Zadorov suffered a lower-body injury in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Montreal and will miss at least two games.Article continues below ...“Muscular, so I would consider him day-to-day, but he won’t play in these next two games,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told HockeyBuzz.com on Thursday. “I think he just tweaked something.”Colorado (19-10-6) is still very formidable without one of its top defenseman because of the first line of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog. Rantanen and Landeskog scored the goals in the win over the Canadiens, and MacKinnon assisted on both.Rantanen and MacKinnon are 1-2, respectively, in scoring in the NHL, and Landeskog leads the team with 23 goals. Their big seasons are a result of coming in as young players and developing their games at the NHL level.That is where the Blackhawks are now after winning three Stanley Cups in six seasons (2010 through 2015). Chicago (12-19-6) is experiencing growing pains, which is one reason why it sits in last place in the Central Division.“Now more than ever Zdeno Chara Jersey , this league is about developing players as you go,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s younger than ever. You need to continue to bring guys along and teach them how they’re going to have to play to win.”Chicago’s youth development was accelerated by a rash of concussions recently. Goaltender Corey Crawford suffered one against San Jose on Sunday, and center Marcus Kruger was struck by an inadvertent elbow in Tuesday’s game against Nashville. Both are out and the Blackhawks are being cautious with the two.Forward Artem Anisimov missed four games with a concussion suffered Dec. 9 but has returned.“You only have one brain,” Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. “Any brain trauma, I don’t know if there’s enough studies out there that show the lasting effects of a concussion and what can happen. So that’s the scary part of concussions, and I think that’s why the awareness we have out there is a good thing now.”With Crawford out, Collin Delia could get the start in goal against the Avalanche after Cam Ward was in net against Dallas. Colorado is going to start Philipp Grubauer, who is 8-2-3 as the No. 2 netminder behind Semyon Varlamov but has a 3.05 goals-against average.Grubauer and Varlamov have struggled of late, but Grubauer is coming off a 35-save performance against Montreal.“Grubi just looked like he was in control of the game, looked real confident and steady in there,” Bednar told HockeyBuzz.com. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Artemi Panarin turned out to be everything the Columbus Blue Jackets were looking for when they traded for him last summer: A dead-eye sniper and deft puck distributor who can get game-breaking goals and make everyone around him better.And Eric Fehr Jersey Womens , the Blue Jackets hope, a guy who can get them deeper into the playoffs.So far, so good. Columbus heads home to Nationwide Arena after taking a 2-0 lead over Washington in their first-round series on Sunday night, a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win in which Panarin contributed a pair of key assists.That came three nights after Panarin won the series opener in overtime. With two assists already in regulation, he drove down the left side, slipped past Capitals defenseman Dimitry Orlov and snapped a shot over goalie Philipp Grubauer’s shoulder.”There’s very few people who can make that shot,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said.”He can make a play from nothing,” Orlov said. ”He’s so smooth.”The Blue Jackets probably wouldn’t be playing in the postseason without the 26-year-old Russian they call the ”Bread Man.” He was a steady presence and consistent scorer through a bumpy season of slumps and injuries to other key players.Panarin led Columbus with 27 goals and 55 assists, and his 82 points were the most in a single season in franchise history. His plus/minus of 23 and average of just over 20 minutes on the ice per game were career highs.Panarin – sounds like Panera Bread, hence the hockey nickname of ”Bread Man” or just ”Bread” – has embraced being a featured star after playing in the large shadow of Patrick Kane in Chicago in his first two years in the league.”In Chicago, I played with Kane and got a lot of assists from him,” Panarin said. ”But I always wanted something more http://www.sabresshoponline.com/authentic-jack-eichel-jersey , to put more of the game on myself and be more accountable for the result. Here, I got that, what I wanted.”Panarin, who won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL in 2015-16, was acquired from the Black Hawks last June along with forward Tyler Motte for forward Brandon Saad and goalie Anton Forsberg. Saad was a reliable player for Columbus for two seasons.”Bread is a different type player because he can make a special play to win a game,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. ”I just think for you to get through and find your way and try to be a better playoff team, you have to have some players that are dynamic. You’re not coaching it, they just see something, they seize a moment and they win you a game. Or they make a huge play to get you back in the game in another way.”With the Blue Jackets on a power play and down 3-2 in the second period on Sunday, Panarin dribbled the puck and patiently waited for a lane to open up before delivering a pinpoint circle-to-circle pass to Cam Atkinson , who scored the tying goal.Panarin’s line mates, veteran winger Atkinson and 19-year-old rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois Youth Jake McCabe Jersey , have benefited from his skills. Atkinson – who had two goals on Sunday – has come on strong after missing time with injuries, finishing the regular season with 14 goals and 14 assists in February and March. Dubois had 20 goals and 28 assists in the regular season, making him the most productive rookie in Blue Jackets history.Panarin makes $6 million a year on a contract that runs through next season. He’ll be due a sizeable salary bump if the Blue Jackets decide to keep him around after that.So far, he’s been an ideal fit.”When they first traded me, of course for a couple days, I worried,” he said. ”But then I calmed down and understood that this is all good for me. I understood that here I would progress as a player first and foremost. What’s most important to me isn’t money, but the whole game.”—Associated Press Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report.—