Avalanche vs. Lightning Thursday NHL injury report, odds, pick: Cale Makar to miss Stanley Cup Finals rematch, Nick Paul likely to play

The last time the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning faced off was Sunday, June 26, 2022, at Amalie Arena in Tampa in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Avs won 2-1  to claim the Cup for the third time in franchise history – stopping the Lightning from winning a third straight title. The teams will play a rematch there Thursday, but Colorado will be missing star defenseman Cale Makar and is thus a +125 underdog at Caesars Sportsbook.

Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league's top defenseman and +500 to repeat this year with 13 goals, 32 assists and an NHL-leading 27:03 of average ice time per game, suffered a head injury in a loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday when he was blindsided by a Jeff Carter hit. Makar also will sit out Saturday at the Florida Panthers before the Avalanche return home.

Colorado probably doesn't beat Tampa Bay in the 2022 Finals without Makar. He totaled seven points on the way to being named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as postseason MVP. He was the first blueliner to claim the award since 2020 when the Lightning's Victor Hedman won it. 

The Avs did get some good injury news Tuesday, as defenseman Bowen Byram returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 4 and winger Valeri Nichushkin drew in for the first time since Jan. 24. Byram had an assist in the 2-1 overtime loss.

The Avalanche haven't named their goaltender for Thursday, but it likely will be Alexandar Georgiev (20-11-2, 2.60 GAA, .919 SV). He's won four straight starts but hasn't played since Jan. 28, before of the All-Star break. The Russian wasn't a member of the 2021-22 championship squad.

Tampa Bay will go with former Conn Smythe winner Andrei Vasilevskiy (23-13-0, 2.63 GAA, .916 SV) in net. He had won three straight before a shockingly bad outing Monday at Florida, allowing seven goals on 42 shots. The Bolts are 0-2 out of the break, also being upset Tuesday at home by a bad San Jose team. Still, Tampa Bay is 20-4-2 on home ice this season and has scored three or more goals in seven consecutive home games and 18 of the last 20.

Winger Nick Paul, who has 16 goals and 10 assists with a plus-10 rating this year, left Tuesday's game in the second period vs. the Sharks and did not return but was at this morning's skate and is thus likely to play.

To win the 2023 Stanley Cup, Colorado is a +550 second favorite at Caesars and Tampa Bay is fourth at +1000.

NHL pick: Tampa Bay -145

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