Avalanche at Blues game preview: How to compensate for missing Saad, O’Reilly?

Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty ImagesOn the opening night of this NHL season, the Blues defeated a very depleted Colorado Avalanche team 5-3. It was not an easy win; Colorado pushed back as the game progressed and were able to come within a goal until captain Ryan O’Reilly potted an empty netter to give the team some breathing room. Nathan MacKinnon was out due to Covid-19, and captain Gabriel Landeskog was out due to suspension.

Tonight, the Blues are the depleted team. They’re missing both Brandon Saad and Ryan O’Reilly due to them being placed on the Covid-19 protocol list, and the coaching staff are going to need to compensate for that. Being short Saad and Pavel Buchnevich was less than…