In what could be a playoff preview, the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks meet for the final time in the regular season Wednesday night with second place in the Central Division at stake.
The Blackhawks (38-13-14) have a one-point lead (90-89) on the third-place Avalanche (42-18-5), and both teams have 17 games remaining.
"It's kind of an exhibition playoff game in a way," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said Wednesday morning. "We're probably going to see these guys or St. Louis in the first round if we don't go on a big run. It could be a first-round matchup, so we want to set the tone right now."
The Avalanche won three of the first four meetings, so Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has chosen to start rookie Antti Raanta in goal. Raanta will be making his first appearance since Jan. 28, when he was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 15 shots in an eventual 5-4 overtime loss to Calgary.
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy was skeptical after the morning skate that Raanta would get the nod instead of Corey Crawford.
"We'll see at game time," Roy said.
Quenneville confirmed that Raanta would start and said of Roy's comment: "That's a junior move for me."
Crawford has played in 47 games this year -- he missed 10 games with a lower-body injury -- but he has a 2-6-2 career record against the Avalanche. Raanta made his NHL debut Nov. 19 when he stopped 14 of 16 shots at the Pepsi Center in relief of Crawford in the Avalanche's 5-1 win. He made 16 saves Dec. 27 against Colorado at the United Center in a 7-2 win immediately after the Christmas break.
"I think we’ve played some big games against them this year, we don’t like our record and we’re making a change," Quenneville said. "(Raanta) has played well for us all year. He hasn’t played in a bit. We want to get him in here and we’re giving him a big stage here as well. We’re confident he can get the job done. He’s had some big stretches. He was the guy for us and really put us in a good spot when Crow was hurt. It’ll definitely be a good measuring stick for him." Duchene said it doesn't make any difference who starts in goal for the Blackhawks.
"They're both good goalies," he said. "Crawford is their No. 1, but they obviously have confidence in both of them. I don't think we read much into that."
Raanta, 24, has a 12-2-3 record this season with one shutout, a 2.40 goals-against average and .904 save percentage.
"It’s nice to get the start and nice to get a start in this kind of game," he said. "Just try to make the saves look easy. Hopefully everybody can be happy for me after the game."
Semyon Varlamov will start for the Avalanche. He has a 32-12-5 record with one shutout, a 2.45 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. He has a 6-3-0 lifetime record against the Blackhawks and is seeking his 100th NHL win.
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Duchene said that he and his teammates prepare for games like this one the same as any other game.
"That's where this team has changed," he said. "We're not fragile, we're not up and down like a rollercoaster. We're very even keel. All of us have wanted this for a long time and it's so nice to maintain it. We're continuously trying to get better and tonight's another big test. We just have to stay hungry and keep going.
"We want to win this division real bad, and it's going to take a lot to do that. It may happen and it may not, but we're putting ourselves in the conversation, putting ourselves in the ball park, and that's all you can ask at the end of the day. It's been easy to maintain because we have fun. You come to the rink and it's fun every day. Everyone's got a smile on their face.
"It's a positive atmosphere all the time. Patty has a ton of fun with us, the coaching staff is always having fun. We're business at the same time, but we're having fun doing it. This is a game and when everyone is having fun, they're at their best. That's something we've had all season."
The Avalanche lineup (defensemen Cory Sarich and Ryan Wilson will be scratched):
FORWARDS Ryan O'Reilly -- Matt Duchene -- Jamie McGinn Gabriel Landeskog -- John Mitchell -- Nathan MacKinnon Cody McLeod -- Marc-Andre Cliche -- Max Talbot Brad Malone -- Paul Carey -- Patrick Bordeleau
DEFENSE Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson Andre Benoit -- Nick Holden Nate Guenin -- Tyson Barrie
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Jean-Sebastien Giguere