Things got nasty Saturday night in Denver. After a few questionable calls, tempers flared and things got a little out of control as nearly every play in the third period against the Jets ended in a scrum. Despite the passion from the Avalanche, the game ended in a disappointing 4-2 loss and was the Avs' third straight loss coming out of the All-Star break. With just one point in those losses, the Avalanche have slipped back behind the Nashville Predators in the standings and sit back now in the second wild card spot. A sluggish defense and an overwhelming shots against have put the Avs back where they were defensively before Varlamov's resurgence and Chris Bigras's call-up. With coach Roy calling out his team to play better, the Avs will look to channel their passions against a Vancouver team that currently sits outside the playoffs.
Like the Avs, the Canucks have also lost several games in a row. Their struggles, however, seem to be more offensively, as they only have three goals to their name in their last three games. The Canucks will mix up the lines and hope to challenge the Avalanche's struggling defense and get back on the score-sheet.
LINES
Grigorenko-MacKinnon-Duchene
Landeskog-Soderberg-Comeau
Tanguay-Wagner-Iginla
McLeod-Mitchell-Skille
Beauchemin-Johnson
Holden-Barrie
Bigras-Redmond
Varlamov
Pickard
NOTES
- Drew Stafford received a one-game suspension for his high stick on Nick Holden Saturday night.
- The Canucks know 3-on-3 pretty well now. They have gone to overtime 19 times this season in 52 games.
- With a power play goal on Saturday, the Avs moved into third in the NHL in power goals.
GAME INFO
Game time: 7pm MT
TV: ALT