This is a big week for the Avalanche -- aren't they all? -- with a two-game road trip that begins Tuesday in Nashville and ends Friday in Dallas, followed by a home game with Minnesota on Saturday.
Here are the notes for the game against the Predators.
The Avalanche (26-23-11) are six points out of the second wild-card spot held by Minnesota and even further behind in non-shootout wins. They also need to leapfrog Calgary, San Jose and Dallas.
“We’re not looking at the teams ahead of us,… coach Patrick Roy said. “We’re just looking at ourselves right now, focusing on how we want to play and what we need to do to be successful. We think that in order to make the playoffs, we’re going to need to have about 95 or 96 points.
"We’re focusing on that more than anything else. We know it’s a big command but at the same time, if you want to be part of the playoffs, you need to play well.…
The Avalanche have won four of the past five games, combining for 18 goals in the wins, with that 43-shot, 4-1 loss to Los Angeles the only blemish.
"Obviously this is something we wanted to do a lot earlier," Ryan O'Reilly said of the suddenly potent offense. "We have to keep doing it now."
The Gabriel Landeskog-O'Reilly-Nathan MacKinnon line combined for three goals and three assists in Sunday's 5-4 win against Tampa Bay, with MacKinnon recording his first NHL hat trick and the first by the Avalanche since Matt Duchene did it Nov. 4, 2011 against Dallas.
The line has totaled seven goals and 11 assists in the past five games: Landeskog (four goals, two assists), O'Reilly (five assists) and MacKinnon (three goals, four assists).
Puck possession, hardy an Avalanche strength, has been a lot better lately, especially when the O'Reilly line is on the ice. He's been terrific on faceoffs, winning 68 of 102 draws (67 percent) in the past five games.
"It's a big part of the game," O'Reilly said. "The more faceoffs I can win the more possessions we can get. It's one of those things that's more energy conserving. You win a draw back, guys can spread out and start making plays and you can get into your regroup and breakout right away.
"Or in the offensive zone you have control and it's less work for your linemates. If I lose the draw you have to go and forecheck and go hound it down. The smallest things are a big part of the game. You have to take pride in it and be good at it."
Defenseman Jan Hejda took part in the morning skate after sitting out Sunday against the Lightning because of a knee injury and is listed as day to day. Game-time decision.
Semyon Varlamov will make his 17th consecutive start, the most ever by an Avalanche goalie and the fifth most in Quebec/Colorado franchise history. He has a 7-3-1 career record against the Predators with two shutouts, a 2.87 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
Pekka Rinne has gone 5-2-1 for Nashville since returning from a knee injury. He has a 12-4-2 record against the Avalanche with one shutout, a 2.02 average and .922 save percentage.
Nashville is 7-1-1 in its past nine games and 25-3-1 at home this season.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon Max Talbot - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Dennis Everberg Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Paul Carey
DEFENSE Jan Hejda/Stefan Elliott - Zach Redmond Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie Brad Stuart - Nick Holden
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Reto Berra