Hardly a shock that Philipp Grubauer will make his sixth consecutive start Wednesday when the Avalanche play Vegas at the Pepsi Center.
Grubauer has gone 4-0-1 in his past five starts with a 1.19 goals-against average and .966 save percentage.
The Avalanche are tied with Arizona with 81 points and 33 regulation and overtime wins, but they hold the second wild card playoff position in the Western Conference because of goal differential (plus-11 to the Coyotes minus-12).
The Avalanche play Arizona on Friday at the Pepsi Center and can give themselves a bit of a cushion with a win against the Golden Knights, who are third in the Pacific Division and need one point to clinch a playoff berth.
“It’s Game 7 every time you play and we need to get the two points,… Grubauer said.
This is Grubauer’s longest stretch of the season and he said the extended playing time has helped to get him into a rhythm and keep his concentration.
“It’s a little bit easier than sitting out two or three weeks and then playing,… he said. “It’s nice to keep playing and get a start after another. It’s nice, but I don’t think the coaches look any further than the next game.
“Same routine, just get a good night’s sleep, get some good food and that’s it. I think it’s more mentally challenging than it is physical. In the situation we’re in it’s a little more important and more crucial. You got to stop every puck, not that you can’t in a normal season, but it’s a little bit more important right now.
“It’s fun,… he said. “You got to take the pressure out. Once you do … you can’t get emotionally too invested in situations like that. Everybody knows what we are playing for, but you still got to have fun. It helps you to be loose.…
Matt Nieto returns after missing 15 games with a foot injury, so the Avalanche will use the traditional 12-forward, six-defensemen lineup. Defenseman Ryan Graves will be a healthy scratch.
Defenseman Mark Barberio has been sent to the Colorado Eagles for conditioning. He’s missed 41 games with various injuries and hasn’t played since Jan. 21 against Nashville.
The projected lineup:
Alexander Kerfoot -- Nathan MacKinnon -- J.T. Compher Colin Wilson -- Carl Soderberg -- Sven Andrighetto Derick Brassard -- Tyson Jost -- Matt Calvert Matt Nieto -- Andrew Agozzino -- Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie Nikita Zadorov -- Patrik Nemeth
Philipp Grubauer Semyon Varlamov