Morning Skate Report: No Minny Matchup for Avalanche

ST. PAUL, Minn.--In the Colorado Avalanche's push for the playoffs, the club can help its own cause to reach the NHL's second season tonight as it faces the Minnesota Wild, another squad looking to make the Stanley Cup tournament.
The Wild (77 points) is one of several teams the Avs are chasing for the second wild-card position in the Western Conference, and both clubs are trying to hunt down the Arizona Coyotes, who presently hold down the final spot with 78 points. The Avalanche is in 10th place in the West, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks with 74 points.
"This game tonight against Minny is important. Probably even more important for us because we're chasing them and trying to track them down for a playoff spot," said Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. "Every inch of ground we can gain with 10 games to go is very important. Our guys should be fired up. It should be a playoff-type atmosphere in here tonight."

The Avalanche players seem to know the magnitude of this evening's game at Xcel Energy Center. Despite some up-and-down play over the last few weeks, the squad can still make a dent in the standings with a victory against the rival Wild.
"You see that Arizona lost last night, so it's time for us to gain some more ground," said forward Matt Calvert. "It's going to be a playoff-like atmosphere. These are the easy ones to get up for.
"You get down to the last 10 and you're battling for your lives. It takes that last step, and I know we have it in here, so it's going to be a fun one here tonight."
This evening's game is the start of a big divisional week for Colorado, which continues its two-game road trip on Thursday at the Dallas Stars and then takes on Chicago in a home-and-home set on Saturday and Sunday.
The Avalanche players have been looking forward to these games for the past few weeks, but their absolute focus first is on the matchup in Minnesota.
"This is such a big one in front of us tonight and on the road and there is going to be a great crowd, that is all we're focusing on right now," Calvert said. "I think we've made some comments the last few days how it is the best week of the season. You can get yourself back in the playoffs with three or four good games here and playing teams you're chasing and battling right behind you. A lot of fun, a lot of emotion, and we got to bring that right from the first shift."

Minnesota is wrapping up a five-game homestand this evening, but the squad has only picked up one victory in that time (1-2-1). The Wild is 1-3-1 in its last five outings and 2-3-3 in its past eight.
"It's seems like whenever we play Minny, it's always a big game," said forward Tyson Jost. "There are always a lot of emotions running high. It's a fun hockey game to play in. I'm sure they're fired up too. It's going to be a good battle to the finish tonight."
The division rivals are meeting for the fourth and final time this season, and second time in St. Paul. Colorado won the opening night meeting at Pepsi Center back on Oct. 4, but Minnesota has victories in the last two matchups. The Wild won 5-2 in the most recent contest on Jan. 23 in Denver.
Like the Avs have done in four of their last six games, their intent this evening is to score first in order to take some energy away from the Wild and its home fans.
"We all know how important that first goal is, so today will be real important that we get a good start," Bednar said. "Especially against a team like Minny, they come charging out of the gate the first 10 minutes or so. They can put a lot of different things at you, so you got to be charged up at the drop of the puck."

GRUBI STARTS

Goaltender Philipp Grubauer will make his second consecutive start in net for the Avalanche.
Grubauer stopped all 22 shots to post his third shutout of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Devils, all of which have come in his last five starts. The Rosenheim, Germany, native is just the second goaltender in franchise history to record three clean slates in a five-start span, joining only Patrick Roy, who accomplished the feat on five different occasions.
Grubauer has a 0.79 goals-against average and .971 save percentage over his last six appearances. He was in net last time Colorado played Minnesota on Jan. 23 and finished with 23 saves.
Avs head coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate that he isn't going to make any changes to his lineup. He is once again expected to use a non-traditional alignment that features 11 forwards and six defensemen.

VIEW: Avalanche at Wild Projected Lineup

QUOTABLES

Left Wing Matt Calvert on playing Minnesota:"We have 10 games left and we're battling against this team, I think you just ramp [the intensity] up that much more."

Center Tyson Jost on the Avs' playoff push:"As a hockey player, you want to be playing meaningful hockey at this time of the year. It's exciting for us. You can feel the buzz of the dressing room. We know what is at stake. You got that excitement around the room right now."

Head Coach Jared Bednar on battling for a playoff spot: "Our guys are excited that no one is pulling away from us. We're actually in a better spot than we were a couple days ago. Now it's one of those must-win games on the docket tonight for us. It's an opportunity that we should be excited about to draw even closer to a playoff spot if we come in here and get the two points. These are the games you like to play, you like to coach in. It should be emotional games, it should be hard-fought games and the competition is the best part about this league, and our guys should be excited for it."