The Avalanche moved into first place in the Central Division on Thursday night, but will the team still be holding down the top spot after Friday?
St. Louis faces off in Dallas about 90 minutes before the Avalanche plays in San Jose, so the Blues could move back into first, pending the outcome of the Colorado/Sharks game.
The Avalanche and Blues have 52-21-7 records and 111 points with two games left in the regular season. Colorado holds the first tiebreaker with more regulation and overtime (non-shootout) wins 47-43.
Regardless of what happens in the final two games, the Avalanche has clinched no worse than second place in the division and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
The Avalanche ends regular-season play Sunday night in Anaheim, when the Blues will be home to Detroit.
Right wing PA Parenteau will return to the Avalanche lineup for the first time since injuring his knee in a March 10 game against Winnipeg, which would have given coach Patrick Roy 12 healthy forwards.
But the Denver Post is reporting John Mitchell won't play because of headaches and he might have a concussion. Never ends, does it? So I guess that means Ryan Wilson will stay in the lineup as a fourth-line forward.
Left wing Cody McLeod, who has missed three games with a sprained ankle, might be available against the Sharks. If not, he should play Sunday against the Ducks.
Reto Berra will start in goal, and it's a risky move by Roy. Berra has played once since his March 5 acquisition from Calgary, a 5-4 overtime loss in Winnipeg on March 19 when he made 22 saves. Berra has been spending plenty of time working with goalie coach Francois Allaire, but practices and games are two different animals. Jean-Sebastien Giguere will be the backup.
The Avalanche has tied the franchise record for wins in a season (52), has gone 8-0-1 in the past nine games and 5-0-1 in the past six on the road.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie scored his fifth game-winning goal of the season in Thursday's 4-2 win in Vancouver, the second-highest total for a defenseman in franchise history. Derek Morris had seven in 2002-03. Barrie's 13 goals are the most by an Avalanche defenseman since John-Michael Liles scored 14 in 2006-07.
The Sharks are locked into second place in the Pacific Division with a 49-22-9 record and 107 points and will have home ice against Los Angeles in the first round of the playoffs.
The San Jose Mercury News reported Friday that rookie forward Tomas Hertl will play his first game since Dec. 19 when he hurt his right knee in a collision with the Kings' Dustin Brown. Hertl had surgery to repair two ligaments. He led all NHL rookies in goals (15) and points (25) when he was injured. Hertl skated Friday morning on the third line with James Sheppard and Tommy Wingels.
San Jose has lost two games in a row and four of the past six. Alex Stalock is expected to start in goal. Antti Niemi allowed six goals on 43 shots in 90 minutes in his past two starts, both losses.
Possible Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog - Paul Stastny - PA Parenteau Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon - Jamie McGinn Patrick Bordeleau - Marc-Andre Cliche - Max Talbot Paul Carey - Brad Malone - Ryan Wilson
DEFENSE Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson Andre Benoit -- Nick Holden Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie
GOALIES Reto Berra Jean-Sebastien Giguere