Colorado Continues Homestand Versus Calgary

The Colorado Avalanche continues its four-game homestand on Wednesday against the Calgary Flames, wrapping up a stretch of eight consecutive games versus Canadian teams. The Avs have gone 3-3-1 thus far against their northern neighbors, which began with to a 2-0 shutout victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 14.
Wednesday's matchup features two teams that are battling it out in the wild card standings in the Western Conference. Heading into the game, the Calgary Flames have a two-point lead, but Colorado has two games in hand over the Flames.

It is the third and final time these two teams will meet this campaign, with the Flames taking both contests earlier in the season. Since the 1995-96 season, Colorado owns a tightly-contested 54-51-10 record over Calgary, with a 28-24-6 mark at home.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche began its four-game homestand with a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. Nathan MacKinnon tallied twice and added an assist on Mikko Rantanen's 20th goal of the year. Rantanten also ended the game with multiple points, recording a helper on MacKinnon's empty-net goal to seal the victory for the Avalanche. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov had his shutout bid end by Daniel Sedin with 1:16 left in the game but finished the contest with 31 saves.
The Calgary Flames were shutout 2-0 by the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The Flames peppered Stars netminder Ben Bishop with 38 shots but were unable to find the back of the net. Calgary's 23rd-ranked power play could not capitalize on six man-advantage opportunities and goaltender Jon Gillies made 24 saves in the Flames' effort.

Last Time They Met

The Flames and Avs met over the weekend in Calgary on Saturday and the Avalanche fell 5-1. Calgary forward Michael Frolik opened the scoring just 18 seconds after the opening puck drop and the Flames didn't look back after that. Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado, and Duncan Siemens recorded the first point of his NHL career with an assist on the marker. Semyon Varlamov made 24 stops in the effort.

What To Watch

Battle In The Standings
With 20 games left in the season, the Avs find themselves in a tight race in the Western Conference wild card standings. Colorado sits just three points out of the second wild-card spot with games in hand over its opponents ahead of them. Wednesday's matchup against Calgary has big playoff implications, as the Flames are two points ahead of the Avalanche. A win over Calgary would leapfrog Colorado ahead in the standings based on the tiebreaker and would leave the Avs just one point out the wild card with games in hand.
Home/Away Advantage
With a record of 21-8-1 at home, the Colorado Avalanche has been very solid at Pepsi Center this season. However, home ice advantage may not be a much of a factor in Wednesday's game as the Calgary Flames boast an 18-9-5 away record, the third-most away wins (tied-Philadelphia) in the league.

Player To Watch

Calgary Right Wing Chris Stewart
Fresh off being claimed on waivers from the Minnesota Wild on Monday, right wing Chris Stewart made his debut in a Calgary Flames sweater on Tuesday night in Dallas. The newest addition to the Flames roster debuted on the first line, playing with Calgary's two leading scorers, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The former first-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche has recorded 159 goals and 159 assists in his 646 career games.
Colorado Right Wing Mikko Rantanen
In his last four games, Mikko Rantanen has tallied two goals and three assists. He is second on the team with 58 points (20 goals, 38 assists) and leads the Avs with 24 power-play points. In five career games against the Flames, Rantanen has two points (one goal, one assist).

Lineup Notes

Semyon Varlamov is expected to get his 34th start in net on Wednesday night. The Avs called up Spencer Martin from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League on Tuesday as both Jonathan Bernier and Andrew Hammond are out with concussions. After missing his last four games, defenseman Anton Lindholm took part in the team's optional practice on Tuesday and participated in full-contact drills. He may not play against Calgary, but could return in the final two games of the homestand.

The Details

Wednesday night's puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live on Altitude TV and can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.