The emergence of defenseman Tyson Barrie as an offensive force and clutch performer has been as remarkable as any development on the Avalanche.
Sent to the Lake Erie Monsters in the AHL for six games in November after being a healthy scratch for eight of nine games, Barrie has recorded 11 goals -- four game winners -- and 22 assists in 53 games since returning.
Barrie has 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) in the past 34 games. That includes his game-winning goals and his tying goal with 51.4 seconds remaining in regulation against the Rangers in Thursday's 3-2 shootout win. He connected for the lone goal in the shootout against goalie Henrik Lundqvist, which doesn't officially count as a goal.
"They trust me in those situations and it's nice to be able to get out there," Barrie said. "Luck is definitely up there. Sometimes the puck just comes to you. I've been fortunate to get a few big goals."
More than luck is involved.
"He accepted the move to the minors, he worked on his game and accepted to play a north game," coach Patrick Roy said. "We don’t want to see him play an east-west game, we want him to go north and he does that perfectly. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and he has our confidence. He's fun to watch."
Barrie had never been called upon in an NHL shootout before Thursday.
"Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling," Roy said. "I had a feeling he would get a goal for us. He made the play."
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Whatever happens the rest of the way in what has been a magical season for the Avalanche, this team deserves plenty of props for its resilience and refusal to give in to adversity.
"Our culture is changing," Roy said. "We believe in ourselves. We have a group that never gives up. Every night they want more. Our guys have been resilient. Every night they compete and they're ready to play. They want to have that home-ice advantage against Chicago."
The Avalanche, second in the Central Division with 104 points, has a five-game winning streak and will face its toughest test yet Saturday afternoon in St. Louis against a first-place Blues team that won the first three meetings by a combined score of 13-5 and is considered by many to be a Stanley Cup favorite with Ryan Miller in goal.
The Avalanche is expected to be without rugged left wing Cody McLeod, who sprained his left ankle Thursday. McLeod is listed as day-to-day but isn't expected to play against the Blues or Sunday against Pittsburgh at the Pepsi Center.
Down to 11 healthy forwards again, nearly-forgotten defenseman Ryan Wilson could get a chance to play left wing on the fourth line. He's been a healthy scratch for 17 consecutive games.
The Avalanche has manufactured back-to-back, come-from-behind wins since Matt Duchene went down with his knee injury, and the team is a combined 15-4-2 in the 21 games PA Parenteau has missed with his knee injuries (8-1-1 from Dec. 31 through Jan. 18, and 7-3-1 from March 12 through Thursday).
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Goalie Semyon Varlamov, who will start against the Blues, has matched Roy's franchise record for home wins with 24. He's posted a 24-9-3 record at the Pepsi Center.
"It's amazing to be part of the history," said Varlamov, whose NHL-leading 39 wins are one shy of Roy's single-season franchise record. "But right now we have six games left and we have to keep playing well and be ready for the playoffs."
Said Roy, who didn't have the advantage of shootout wins: "I'm happy to be a part of it. I'm happy for him." The Avalanche's 49 wins are the second-most in franchise history. The record is 52, set in the 2000-01 Stanley Cup championship season. The Avalanche also won 49 games in 1996-97.