DENVER -- The St. Louis Blues will take a three-game winning streak into their game Friday against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center with a chance to move within three points of the Central Division-leading Chicago Blackhawks (9 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ALT).

The Blues (28-15-7) have won five of their past six games following a stretch in which they lost three consecutive games in overtime or a shootout. That included a 4-3 overtime loss to the Avalanche (24-21-3) on Jan. 6 when they squandered a late lead.

Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon scored with 1:29 left in regulation to tie the game in a 6-on-5 skating situation and Gabriel Landeskog won it with 16.5 seconds remaining in the extra period.

"That still stings a bit, but we had a stretch there where that was kind of a script to the game, where we had a lead and would give it up and tried to scrounge an extra point in overtime or in a shootout," Blues center David Backes said. "We learned a lesson from those games. In the last 5-10 minutes of games lately we've buckled down and secured the win when we've had the lead."

DENVER -- Ryan O'Reilly won't be surprised if he receives a chilly reception Wednesday when the Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche play at Pepsi Center (10 p.m. ET; MSG-B, BELL TV, ALT).

It will be the first game between the teams since the Avalanche traded O'Reilly and forward Jamie McGinn to the Sabres on June 26, 2015 for center Mikhail Grigorenko, defenseman Nikita Zadorov, the rights to University of Michigan forward J.T. Compher and a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

The Avalanche made the trade after they weren't able to reach an agreement with O'Reilly on a contract extension. O'Reilly would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season. He subsequently signed a seven-year, $52.5 million contract with the Sabres that kicks in next season.

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche will have a new look on defense Thursday when they play the New Jersey Devils at Pepsi Center (9 p.m. ET; MSG+2, ALT).

Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras were recalled Wednesday from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League and will be paired with Francois Beauchemin and Zach Redmond, respectively.

"I said to them it's their chance to push some guys out of the lineup and I want some consistency from them," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "We're a team that wants to make the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs and they have an opportunity to show what they can do."

DENVER -- The Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche have overcome slow starts to move into the Stanley Cup Playoffs picture heading into their game Tuesday at Pepsi Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

The Lightning (21-17-4) have gone 10-6-1 since Dec. 2 to climb within one point of the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference.

The Avalanche (21-19-3) have gone 12-5-2 since Dec. 1 to tie the Nashville Predators for points (45 each) in the race for the second wild card from the Western Conference. The Predators hold the tiebreaker because they have played one fewer game.

DENVER -- Center Ryan Johansen, who was acquired Wednesday from the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Seth Jones, will make his Nashville Predators debut against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Friday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-TN).

Johansen will skate on a line with forwards Colin Wilson and James Neal.

"He needs to come in and be part of our group," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said after an optional morning skate. "He's going to play some minutes just like everyone else on our team. We need our team to be great tonight. He's now part of our team, he's part of our forward group, he's part of the power play. But everybody's got to do their job. As a team, we all need to make sure we’re ready to play tonight. It's a big game."

The Predators (19-14-7) have a two-point lead over the Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They have played one fewer game than the Avalanche (20-18-3), but Colorado has a three-game lead in regulation and overtime wins (20-17), the first tiebreaker.

DENVER -- Andrew Bodnarchuk will start on the Colorado Avalanche's top defense pairing with Francois Beauchemin when they face the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday at Pepsi Center (10 p.m. ET; FS-MW, ALT).

Bodnarchuk was claimed off waivers Tuesday from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Bodnarchuk is replacing Erik Johnson, who is expected to miss between five and 12 days with a lower-body injury he sustained Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.

"We'll see how it goes," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "Playing with Beauchemin is going to help him a lot. He's going to talk to him and make him comfortable. We'll go from there and we'll see. I have no expectations. I just want him to play hard for us. We're all curious to see what he's going to bring to our team. It's for depth and I think he's going to help us."

DENVER -- Maybe the fourth time will be the charm for Jarome Iginla when the Colorado Avalanche play the Los Angeles Kings on Monday at Pepsi Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

The Avalanche right wing has gone three games without the goal he needs to become the 19th player in NHL history to score 600 in a career.

"[Iginla's] going to get his 600th when he does," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "We have to focus on winning hockey games. We have to go about this one as just another regular game. When he does get it, it's going to be real exciting for everybody to be a part of it, but as of right now we're focusing on winning hockey games."

DENVER -- Jarome Iginla would enjoy scoring his 600th NHL goal against his former team, the Calgary Flames, when the Colorado Avalanche play them Saturday at Pepsi Center (10 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports, ALT2).

Iginla played his first 15-plus seasons with the Flames, was captain for nine of them, and scored 525 of his 599 regular-season goals wearing a Calgary uniform.

"It'd be nice to get it against Calgary, but at the same time when it happens, it happens," said Iginla, who would be the 19th player in NHL history to reach 600. "We know as a team we need to climb back into a playoff spot, and it's an important game for us, so it's definitely a side story and not our focus."

DENVER -- Jarome Iginla is excited about the prospect of eventually scoring his 600th NHL goal, but he's more concerned about trying to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the Chicago Blackhawks at Pepsi Center on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, ALT).

"It'll be a great atmosphere in the building, a fun night," said Iginla, who scored No. 599 in his previous home game, Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes. "Hopefully [the goal] happens sooner or later, but I just want to play good and help the team. I'd rather do it at home. The family will be here, my mom's here. It'd be cool. The guys have been great, they've been joking with me.

"Honestly, the focus is where it should be, trying to get back [into the Stanley Cup Playoffs], catching teams."

DENVER -- Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said he's curious to see how his players perform in the first period Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes at Pepsi Center (8 p.m. ET; FS-A, ALT2) in their first game in six days.

The Avalanche (17-17-1) practiced Saturday following the end of the holiday break but haven't played since a 7-4 loss Monday to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"We did a lot of rush plays and flow drills [Saturday], and at the end we started to click more," Roy said. "This morning I thought we were moving the puck better. I'm confident that we will have a good start."

Roy said the Coyotes (16-15-3) could have an early advantage because they played Saturday, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings.