Colorado Concludes Back-To-Back In Buffalo

The Colorado Avalanche wraps up a three-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday evening, putting a stamp on the team's ninth back-to-back set of the season. The Avs will return home following the contest for a Valentine's Day showdown on Wednesday versus the Montreal Canadiens before hitting the road again for a quick one-game trip to tangle with the Winnipeg Jets.
Colorado is 7-5-2 in 14 all-time games against the Sabres in Buffalo, and while the Avs have won five of the last seven matchups as the road team in the series, they've fallen in their last two outings as the visiting team.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche scored the first goal of the game Saturday but fell 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Tyson Barrie got the Avalanche on the board late in the opening frame, but the Hurricanes scored three unanswered goals to take the win. Semyon Varlamov finished with 32 saves, but Colorado was held scoreless on five power-play opportunities.
Scott Wilson tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Sabres to a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night at TD Garden. After a scoreless first period, Buffalo scored twice to take a 2-0 lead midway through the middle stanza and led 3-1 after 40 minutes of play. Boston came within striking distance late in regulation, but Rasmus Ristolainen scored an empty-net goal with less than 30 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Last Time They Met

The Sabres won the first meeting of the season between the teams this season, 4-2 on Dec. 5 at Pepsi Center. Nathan MacKinnon scored both goals for Colorado, while Buffalo received multi-point nights from Jack Eichel (goal and assist), Jake McCabe (goal and assist), Benoit Pouliot (goal and assist) and Ryan O'Reilly (two assists). The Sabres' Robin Lehner finished with 35 saves, while Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced.

What To Watch

Back-To-Back
Both teams enter Sunday's tilt on the second half of a back-to-back set. For the Avalanche, it's the ninth of 11 sets of two games in two nights, while the Sabres are playing two consecutive games for the 12th of 16 times this season. The Avs are 2-6-0 in the second contest of a back-to-back, while the Sabres are 3-6-2 in the second outing.
Avs Against the East
The Avalanche is currently in a stretch of games that sees the club play three straight against the Eastern Conference, a span that ends against Montreal at home on Wednesday. Colorado is 16-10-1 against the Eastern Conference this season, including a 6-2-0 mark in its last eight contests against the East.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Center J.T. Compher
Compher will be playing in his first NHL game in Buffalo, the team that drafted him in the second round (35th overall) in 2013. The Avs rookie notched an assist on Colorado's lone goal on Saturday night and led the team's forward's in time on ice (19:46). He's registered seven points (four goals and three assists) through the Avalanche's last eight games. Compher was acquired by the Avalanche in a trade on draft night on June 26, 2015.
Buffalo: Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen
Ristolainen notched a goal in Buffalo's win on Saturday night and now has 15 points (four goals and 11 assists) in his last 18 games, dating back to Dec. 29 and is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen during that span. He's tallied four points (one goal and three assists) in seven career outings against the Avalanche.

The Details

Sunday's game between the Avs and Sabres is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT and can be watched live on Altitude TV. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.