Morning Skate Report: Avs Playoff Push Continues in Texas

DALLAS--The Colorado Avalanche needs to only look at its most recent game for a blueprint to success in the final weeks of the season.
Colorado began a two-game road trip through the Central Division on Tuesday with a well-earned, 3-1 victory at the Minnesota Wild. The Avs went toe-to-toe with the Wild throughout the night, but especially in the third period when the clubs traded quality scoring chances.
The Avalanche finished that game with 38 shots, 20 hits, 15 blocks and two points in the standings to help the club keep pace in the playoff push.
"Guys sacrificing last game," said Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. "We made some mistakes, but we got some big saves from [Philipp] Grubauer. And not just him, but other guys around on the ice digging in, giving me that a little bit extra. We had a lot of blocked shots… Doing whatever you can as a unit of five to cover up some of your mistakes.

"We defended quick. We were in their face. We made them earn every inch of ice. That is something we've been preaching all year, but the last game we had it. We had that little extra that it takes to win at this time of the year."
Next stop on the trip for the Avalanche is a meeting tonight with the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center, and just like two days earlier, it will be a battle between clubs fighting for a playoff spot.
Colorado is currently two points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second and last wild-card spot in the Western Conference, while the Stars have a four-point edge over the Coyotes for the first wild-card position.
"They're trying to knock us out of the playoffs, and we're trying to get in," Bednar said of the matchup with the Stars. "It's a big game for us, and we need to come in with the same type of urgency and desperation that we had in Minny."
Bednar noted that he liked his players' energy during morning skate, and the players seem to grasp the opportunity that is in front of them with only nine games remaining in the regular season.
"Last game we competed hard," said veteran Derick Brassard. "You saw guys sacrificing their bodies and doing the little things right. We didn't give them much, and we're expecting that from ourselves tonight. We want to do the same thing. It's going to take everyone in the lineup and a good effort."
This evening's game is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the teams, with Colorado currently leading 2-1-0 in the series. The Avs won the first two outings at home, but the Stars won the most recent contest by a 4-0 score on March 7.
In what began as a tightly-contested affair, the Stars took advantage of their scoring chances to pull away in the third period. Dallas was physical and didn't allow the Avalanche to use its speed to find much space in the offensive and neutral zones.
"I don't think they give much. We're going to have to fight for ice, and we're going to have to find a way to score goals," Brassard said. "They have a lot of big bodies, a lot of guys that are hard to move. They defend really hard and we expect it to be a low scoring game tonight. We're going to have to find a way to score goals."
Getting the two points in the standings is enough incentive for the Avs, but having a better performance in North Texas than two weeks ago is also motivation.
"It's going to be a huge game for us and for them as well. It's going to be a physical game, an intense game," said Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard. "We're going to have to be ready for the game tonight and make sure we bring our qualities to the ice. We're going to have to use our speed."

LINEUP NOTES, OR LACK THERE OF

The Avalanche won't make any changes to its lineup and will use a roster featuring 11 forwards and seven defensemen for a third consecutive game.
Rookie Ryan Graves has been the seventh blueliner in the past two outings, and his 6-foot-5, 226-pound frame could be beneficial for the Avs this evening, according to Bednar.
"We felt that he was a guy that could help us in a few different areas, like his size and his ability to get pucks to the net in the offensive zone," Bednar said. "He's chipped in a little bit offensively for us. Playing a big team in Dallas, you want some big guys in that can play physical on the backend. He brings us some of that."
Forward Andrew Agozzino is expected to be the lone healthy scratch, as A.J. Greer was reassigned to the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles earlier in the day.

LET IT RIDE

Avs head coach Jared Bednar will once again go with the hot goaltender, and there hasn't been many others better than Philipp Grubauer recently.
Grubauer will make his third consecutive start after recording a 22-save shutout in Sunday's win over the New Jersey Devils and stopping 36 shots in Tuesday's victory in Minnesota.
"You know you need two goalies to get you into the playoffs and try and make a run," Bednar said. "We've got some hot goaltending from [Semyon Varlamov], we rode him for a while. Now Grubi has really elevated and stepped up his game, and we're riding him. That is what you got to do at this time of the year, you got to go with what works and right now he's looked really athletic. He looks like he's reading the play one step ahead.
Grubauer has a 4-2-0 record, 0.83 goals-against average, .971 save percentage and three shutouts in his last seven games (six starts). Since Feb. 23, the Rosenheim, Germany, native ranks tied for first among goalkeepers in goals-against average and ranks second in save percentage (Vegas' Marc-Andre Fleury, 0.83 goals-against average, .973 save percentage).

QUOTABLES

Defenseman Samuel Girard on the team's defensive play:"I think we've done a good job of being five back in the zone and to play defensively. Our forwards help us out a lot on D. So we're going to have to do the same thing tonight and make sure we do the same thing that we did against Minny."
Center Derick Brassard on continuing momentum:"I know it's a big game tonight and everyone knows those points are important, but we just have to have fun with it. That's what we did in Minnesota, we didn't put any pressure on ourselves and we probably put [out] our best effort in the last couple weeks. It's not going to be any different against those guys. They've played pretty well, they're tight defensively and it should be a tight game, low-scoring game."
Head Coach Jared Bednar on his club:"You can see from the guys' energy this morning, we had a day off yesterday, and coming in here I loved our energy today. Guys are skating, they're vocal and they're talking on the ice. It looks like they're having fun. Hopefully that game in Minnesota gave them a little confidence, and we're trying to come in here and repeat that performance."