Patrick Roy will make his NHL debut as a head coach when the Colorado Avalanche host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.
The legendary goalie won a number of Stanley Cups during his playing years and was brought in this summer to help the club return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10. The club is expected to sport a lineup that features Ryan O'Reilly, Matt Duchene, Steve Downie, Gabriel Landeskog, Paul Stastny, Alex Tanguay, Jamie McGinn, Nathan MacKinnon, P.A. Parenteau, Cody McLeod, John Mitchell, Patrick Bordeleau, Jan Hejda, Erik Johnson, Andre Benoit, Cory Sarich, Tyson Barrie, Nate Guenin, Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
The Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference and managed to win the draft lottery. With the first overall pick, the team selected MacKinnon.
Anaheim finished second in the West last year but fell to the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in the opening round.
A number of veterans expressed a preference for starting the season on the road in Denver.
"I really believe there's less distraction when you start on the road," Teemu Selanne said, according to Anaheim's official website. "But, the focus right now is having a good start. It's going to make a lot of things easier."
"You get away from the hassle," added Saku Koivu. "You can really focus on the first couple games. We spend two days in between the first and second games. We can get some time as a team, some bonding time. If you can get some wins, it's a really good thing to start on the road."
Prediction: Colorado gives its fans a big reason to celebrate with a 4-1 win.
Start Time: 9:30 p.m. EST
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