The offense-challenged Avalanche close out their two-game road trip Sunday in Winnipeg against a Jets team that always gives them trouble.
Here are the game notes. The Avalanche have been shut out in back-to-back games, losing 1-0 Saturday in Minnesota, and they've been blanked eight times this season.
The power play continues to be a disaster after going 0-for-2 against the Wild. They've failed to convert on 24 consecutive chances in the past eight games and are 3-for-45 in 16 games.
Pity goalie Semyon Varlamov, who stopped 54 of 56 shots in the past two games and was tagged with the loss in both. He'll start his 10th consecutive game Sunday and might have to pitch a shutout to steal two valuable points.
Varlamov has a 10-6-2 record in his past 18 starts with a 1.92 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. He's allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of those games.
Practically all of the Avalanche's top forwards are in slumps:
Alex Tanguay has no goals in 10 games, John Mitchell none in nine games, Nathan MacKinnon none in seven, Matt Duchene none in six, Gabriel Landeskog one in eight.
The Avalanche (22-20-11, 55 points) have fallen to 11th in the Western Conference, six points behind Calgary for the second wild-card playoff position. The Flames, ninth-place Minnesota and 10th-place Los Angeles all have significant leads in ROW -- regulation and overtime wins, the tiebreaker.
The Jets (26-18-10, 62 points) have the first wild-card spot in the West but have lost six games in a row (0-4-2) since the All-Star break.
They've beaten the Avalanche in both previous games in Winnipeg this season, 2-1 in overtime Oct. 26 and 6-2 Dec. 5 when Colorado played the second game in a back-to-back situation. The Avalanche are 1-3-2 in the second game this year.
Jets forward Evander Kane underwent season-ending shoulder surgery Saturday.