Game 49 Preview: Blues @ Avalanche

The Avs turned the narrative around Wednesday night. After trailing 1-0 after two periods and their former star center having an assist, it appeared that Ryan O'Reilly was going to take his woeful Sabres into Colorado and shutout his former team. But with 18 shots in the third period, the Avalanche stormed back and won the game with a last minute goal from Francios Beauchemin. The win cemented the Avs' place in the second wildcard seed for the time being and moved them to within striking distance of the Minnesota Wild in the first wildcard position. With victories in three of their last four, the Avs are starting to gain some momentum heading into the All-Star break.

The Avs opponent Friday night is also gaining some momentum of late. The St. Louis Blues have won their last three games, but are missing their top goaltender in Jake Allen. Allen has missed the last six games with a knee injury he suffered against the Ducks two weeks ago. While Allen has been the main backstop for the Blues for most of the Season, former Avalanche Brian Elliot has done well in Allen's absence. Elliot has won five of the six games since Allen's injury and will look to help the Blues keep pace with the Stars and Blackhawks in the Central Division's elite.

LINES

Tanguay-MacKinnon-Duchene

Landeskog-Soderberg-Comeau

Martinsen-Grigorenko-Iginla

McLeod-Mitchell-Skille

Beauchemin-Zadorov

Holden-Barrie

Bigras-Redmond

Varlamov

Pickard

Scratches: Wagner, Bodnarchuk

NOTES

- Alex Tanguay's goal in Wednesday's victory snapped a streak of 26 in a row without a goal.

- The Avs are 10-3-1 against the Central division this season, including 2-0 against the Blues.

- Gabriel Landeskog has just three goals in his last 23 games.

- With the win Wednesday night, the Avs improved their home record to 11-10-3.

GAME INFO

Game time: 7pm MT

TV: ALT