Semyon Varlamov will make his ninth consecutive start Friday when the Avalanche play in Chicago in yet another critical Western Conference match.
The GAME NOTES.
Varlamov has gone 3-1-0 in his past four starts with a shutout, 1.01 goals-against average and .968 save percentage. He’s 16-15-8 overall with two shutouts, a 2.79 average and .911 save percentage.
The Avalanche have won two games in a row for the first time since a six-game streak Nov. 18-28. They’re 3-1-0 in the past four games and 3-2-3 in eight after losing four in a row in regulation.
They’ll be trying to cool off Chicago and forward Patrick Kane, who has 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists) in a 19-game point streak. The Blackhawks have gone 10-2-0 in their past 12 games.
The Avalanche, Chicago and Arizona all have 61 points and trail Minnesota by one point for the second wild card playoff spot in the West. Dallas has a four-point lead for the first wild card.
The Blackhawks won the first two meetings, both at the Pepsi Center, 2-1 on Dec. 21 and 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 29.
It will be a quick and difficult turnaround for the Avalanche, who play in Nashville on Saturday.
The expected lineup:
Alexander Kerfoot -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Sven Andrighetto Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Mikko Rantanen Gabriel Landeskog -- Tyson Jost -- Matt Calvert A.J. Greer -- Andrew Agozzino -- J.T. Compher
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Patrik Nemeth -- Tyson Barrie Ryan Graves -- Nikita Zadorov
Semyon Varlamov Philipp Grubauer