Avalanche And Blackhawks Meet For The Final Time This Season

The Colorado Avalanche looks to get back in the win column on Friday night as it hosts the Chicago Blackhawks in the penultimate contest at Pepsi Center of the 2017-18 regular season. Colorado has performed well against the Blackhawks this campaign, owning a 2-0-1 record against its Central-Division rival.
The Avalanche is 49-30-9 against Chicago since the 1995-96 season and has played solid on home ice, going 26-12-5 in that span.
After the contest, Colorado heads to California for three games before wrapping up the regular season at home versus the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, April 7.

Last Time Out

Colorado fell 2-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday in a hard-fought contest at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche went into first intermission down 2-0 on tallies from Philadelphia's Claude Giroux and Ivan Provorov, but Matt Nieto recorded his 14th goal of the year in the second frame to cut the lead to 2-1. However, that is all the Avs' offense could find despite a strong push in the third period. Goaltender Andrew Hammond made 31 saves in his Avalanche debut and first NHL game since Feb. 7, 2017.
The Blackhawks defeated the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 on Thursday night in Chicago and will be playing the second half of a back-to-back in Denver. Tomas Jurco netted two goals and Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad, Erik Gustafsson and Alex DeBrincat all scored for the Blackhawks. In his NHL debut, Blackhawks goaltender Collin Delia stopped 25 shots to secure the victory. Emergency goalie Scott Foster also made seven saves in relief after Delia left in the third period with an injury.

Last Time They Met

The Avalanche paid Chicago a visit less than two weeks ago on March 20 and skated out of United Center with a 5-1 victory. The Blackhawks led 1-0 entering the second period after a goal from defenseman Brent Seabrook, but the Avalanche roared back with goals from Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson and a pair from Alexander Kerfoot. Nathan MacKinnon recorded two helpers, and Colorado's power play cashed in on 2-of-3 opportunities in the game. Semyon Varlamov ended the night with 44 saves to secure the win.

What To Watch

Home Sweet Home
With one more win this year at Pepsi Center, the Avs would have the second-most victories at home in franchise history. Colorado has been victorious 26 times in its friendly confines this season, tied with the 2013-14 squad for the most in the Avalanche/Nordiques annals. The 2007-08 team won 27 games at Pepsi Center, while the Stanley Cup-winning 2000-01 squad holds the record with 28 victories.
Approaching Career Highs
Defenseman Tyson Barrie and forward Gabriel Landeskog are both close to setting personal bests for a season. Barrie has 52 points this year, one shy of tying his career high of 53 that he set in 2014-15. Landeskog has scored 24 goals this season and just needs two more markers to match his best output of 26, set in 2013-14.

Players To Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Erik Johnson
Erik Johnson has picked up points in two straight games to bring his season total to 25 in 62 contests. Johnson has picked up where he's left off as the team's minute-eating defenseman since returning from an upper-body injury on March 18, averaging 22:48 a game. He is seventh in the NHL for ice time per game at 25:26.
Chicago: Defenseman Brent Seabrook
Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook is coming into Denver after playing in his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday, and he is only the fifth Blackhawks player to reach the millennial mark for the franchise. Seabrook has recorded three points (two goals, one assist) in his last five games, including the lone tally in a 5-1 loss against the Avalanche on March 20. The longtime Blackhawks blueliner has tallied 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) this season.

Lineup Notes

A decision on the Avalanche's starting goaltender will be made Friday morning, head coach Jared Bednar said following Thursday's practice. Semyon Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier both skated on Thursday, but only Bernier took part in the on-ice session. Varlamov was under the weather and missed Wednesday contest versus Philadelphia, while Bernier has been out for the past two games with an infection from a cut.

The Details

Game time for Friday night's contest is slated for 7 p.m. MT. It can be watched live on Altitude 2 and heard on FM 92.5 The Wolf or at ColoradoAvalanche.com.