The Avalanche might want to consider taking care of business in regulation Saturday afternoon when they play Arizona at the Pepsi Center.
Overtime has not been kind to Colorado, especially recently. They've lost three games in a row, all in overtime, most recently Thursday 5-4 in Columbus.
The good news is that the Avalanche have a point in six consecutive games, going 3-0-3. They've also gone 13-1-1 in the past 15 games at home.
The Avalanche remain very much in the hunt for a playoff spot with 78 points. They're one point behind Los Angeles for the second wild card, and the outcome of their two remaining games against the Kings will certainly help determine if Colorado will join the postseason party.
Jonathan Bernier will start after missing 10 games. He sustained a concussion in a Feb. 16 game at Winnipeg. They went 4-2-4 with Semyon Varlamov in goal.
Encouraging that defenseman Erik Johnson took part in some drills Friday, including taking some shots, albiet while wearing a no-contact jersey. Still no timetable for his return. Here he is, courtesy of the Avalanche:
👀#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/K0EDkN1bR1
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 9, 2018
The Coyotes are out of the playoff race but won't be an easy opponent.
They're 3-0-1 in the past four games and 9-2-2 in the past 13. They split two previous games with Colorado; the Avalanche won 6-2 in Arizona on Dec. 23 and lost 3-1 at home on Dec. 27.
The Avalanche lineup, based on practice Friday:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Sven Andrighetto -- Tyson Jost -- J.T. Compher Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau Alexander Kerfoot -- Dominic Toninato -- Gabriel Bourque
DEFENSE Nikita Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie Patrik Nemeth -- Samuel Girard Duncan Siemens -- Anton Lindholm
GOALIES Jonathan Bernier Semyon Varlamov