Avalanche Road Trip Wraps Up at Calgary

The Colorado Avalanche closes out a three-game road trip against the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up a stretch that saw the Avs play 13-of-16 contests away from Pepsi Center.
Saturday's tilt will be the second of three meetings between the former Northwest Division-rivals, the last of which will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 28 when the Flames make their second trip to the Mile High City.
Colorado is 54-50-10 all-time against the Flames (since 1995-96) with a 26-26-4 mark as the road team in the series. The Avalanche has lost three of the last four matchups at the Saddledome.

Last Time Out

Semyon Varlamov stopped 43-of-46 shots, and the Avalanche erased a two-goal deficit but ultimately fell in overtime, 3-2, to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night at Rogers Place. Samuel Girard scored in the waning seconds of the middle frame to bring Colorado within one, and Colin Wilson tied the game 50 seconds into the third stanza.
Johnny Gaudreau notched a goal and two assists to lead the Flames to a 5-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena on Thursday night, snapping a three-game losing streak. It was the second game of a back-to-back set for Calgary, which is now 6-3-1 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. Jon Gillies made 35 saves, and the Flames converted on 1-of-4 power-play chances.

Last Time they Met

The Flames defeated the Avalanche 3-2 on Nov. 25, as goaltender David Rittich earned his first NHL win. Mikael Backlund led Calgary with two points (1g, 1a) while the Avs got goals from Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov, whose marker late in the third period brought Colorado within one. The Avalanche was 1-for-3 on the power play while the Flames scored once on four man-advantage opportunities.

What to Watch

Game Implications
Entering Saturday's contest, the Flames sit two points ahead of the Avalanche in the Western Conference wild card standings. Dallas (74 points) and St. Louis (72 points) occupy the top two spots, and just five points separate the Stars and the Avalanche.
Avalanche in Matinees
Saturday's contest is the eighth of 12 afternoon games for the Avalanche this season, its most matinee games since also playing 12 in the 2008-09 campaign. Colorado is 3-3-1 in afternoon games so far this season.
Strong Start
In its last two contests, the Avalanche has had to come from behind, overcoming a three-goal deficit Tuesday to eventually beat the Vancouver Canucks in overtime, and rallying from two goals down on Thursday before ultimately falling to Edmonton. Colorado is 27-6-2 when scoring the first goal of the game, tied for the fourth-most wins of any team in the league when finding twine first.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Center Tyson Jost
Jost registered an assist against the Oilers on Thursday, marking the first time in his career that he's tallied a point in three consecutive games. He now has 16 points (7g, 9a) this season, with six of those points (4g, 2a) coming in his last nine games. His four goals in the month of February are a team high.
Calgary: Defenseman Dougie Hamilton
Hamilton opened the scoring in the first meeting between these two teams in November and has five points (2g, 3a) in 11 career contests against the Avalanche. His 14 goals this season rank second among NHL defensemen, trailing P.K. Subban by one.

The Details

Saturday's game between the Avalanche and Flames begins at 2 p.m. MT and can be watched live on Altitude TV. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or ColoradoAvalanche.com.