Fresh off a 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild the Avalanche are headed to Winnipeg to complete the second half of a brutal back-to-back against the Winnipeg Jets. For the players, it's a physically exhausting stretch, playing 2 games with travel in under 24 hours. For the fans, it's emotionally exhausting expelling so much hate towards two absolutely despicable teams.
With their loss last night the Avalanche slipped from 9th in the Western Conference to 11th and their playoff situation became considerably more dire. Coming off back-back shutout losses the Avalanche are looking at what is essentially a must-win game against the Winnipeg Jets if they hope to remain in the playoff hunt.
On the other side, the Winnipeg Jets have been grabbing headlines lately, and not for their play on the ice. There's been some off ice drama in Winnipeg surrounding the future of Evander Kane and an apparent altercation with Dustin Byfuglien which resulted in Kane scratching himself, electing season ending shoulder surgery, and likely ending his time as a member of the Jets organization. The Jets have lost their last two games in overtime or shootout. The Avs have lost in two straight shutouts, and haven't scored in 25 consecutive power play opportunities.
Injury Report: Tyson Barrie has missed two games for the Avalanche, but did travel with the team to Winnipeg and skated on his own in Minnesota yesterday. Barrie is day-to-day with a hip flexor injury and is questionable for tonight's game.
Lines:
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O`Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon
Alex Tanguay - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Dennis Everberg
Max Talbot - Marc Andre Cliche - Daniel Briere
Jan Hejda - Zach Redmond
Nick Holden - Brad Stuart
Nate Guenin - Stefan Elliott
Semyon Varlamov
Injured: Erik Johnson (knee), Jamie McGinn (back), Jesse Winchester (head), Ryan Wilson (shoulder), Patrick Bordeleau (knee), Borna Rendulic (leg)
Scratched: Karl Stollery, Tyson Barrie (hip)
Never Gonna Play: Reto Berra
Puck drops at 6:00 PM EST 4:00 PM MST on Altitude