Morning Skate Report: Avs Nearing End of Road-Heavy Schedule

TAMPA, Fla.--A long stretch that has the Colorado Avalanche playing nearly half of its season's road schedule is nearing its end.
The Avs play tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena to wrap up a four-game journey through the Eastern Conference and conclude a stretch that had Colorado on the road for 19-of-28 outings.

"It's important for team chemistry. It is important for us to get off to a good start on the road as well," Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said of being away from the Mile High City. "Last year, we were kind of struggling on the road and weren't able to get the results that we wanted early. It kind of put us in a pinch toward the end of the year, and we needed some must-wins toward the end.
"But this year on the road we have had quite some success, and we want to keep that going. We have played quite a bit on the road this year, so we got to make sure we take care of this one tonight."

So far on this trip, Colorado is 2-1-0 after defeating the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Sunday, falling 6-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday and then beating the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Thursday.
Colorado is 11-5-2 on the road this year, the most away points (24) in the NHL and tied for the most wins. Being away from home has been a chance for the team to come together both on and off the ice and strengthen bonds between players.
"I prefer being on the road early in the year because there is a handful of new guys, and it's a time where guys spend a lot of time with one another and get to know the new guys," added Landeskog. "Sort of once you get home and you are in Denver, everybody has families and other obligations, so it's always good to be on the road at the start of the year.
"For some reason when you win on the road, it has a different effect on your hockey team. It just sort of brings guys together and you celebrate after and enjoy the victories, and you go through the losses together too."
The Avs are now nearly halfway done with their road schedule and lead all teams in road games played, having completed 18 heading into tonight's matchup..
The Avalanche returns home on Tuesday to host the Edmonton Oilers. Colorado will play five of its next six contests and nine of 12 at Pepsi Center.

THE NHL'S OFFENSIVE LEADERS

The top three scorers in the National Hockey League this season will be playing in the contest tonight as Mikko Rantanen leads the NHL with 47 points (12 goals, 35 assists), Nathan MacKinnon is second with 44 (19 goals, 25 assists) and the Lightning's Nikita Kucherov sits third with 43 (12 goals, 31 assists).
"It's going to be important that we take care of the puck, especially in the neutral zone," Landeskog said of limiting Tampa Bay's chances. "They have some guys with a lot of offensive talent and a very deep lineup but once they get control of it in our zone, we got to make sure we are quick to contact and a five-man defense. We talk about it all the time, but it's going to be important tonight."
The Avalanche is second in the NHL with 3.69 goals per game, trailing only the Lightning, which has posted a 3.83 average through its first 30 contests. Additionally, the two clubs have lit the lamp more than any other team in the league with Tampa Bay ranking first with 115 markers and Colorado second with 107.
"Like every team in this league, they are dangerous," said Avs defenseman Nikita Zadorov. "Obviously, they got lots of talent up front up there, so as the D we got to do our job tonight. Shut them down, play right defensively, play the right system and good things will happen."
The Lightning is tied for first with a plus-28 goal differential and Colorado is right behind at plus-27.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST MEETING

It will be the second and final time these clubs face each other this season. The Lightning won the first matchup 1-0 at Pepsi Center on Oct. 24.
"I mean they are such a good offensive team. You got to work so hard to check them through their lineup; they have depth and depth scoring," said Avs head coach Jared Bednar. "I thought we did a really nice job last game, as did they, and the goalies were real good and the game ends 1-0.
"Certainly, we are going to have to work real hard away from the puck here tonight, and hopefully we can use our speed a little bit to counter their attack and attack them. We will see what happens, I don't know. It's tough to tell what to expect, especially after last game ended 1-0."
Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in that contest, and he will be back between the pipes tonight in Tampa.
View: Avalanche Projected Lineup at Lightning