Home Streak On The Line In Milestone Game

During a stretch that has the Colorado Avalanche playing away from Pepsi Center for most of the month of February, taking advantage of its home contests is paramount.
The team has done a good job of doing that so far. The Avs are 19-7-1 at their own barn and rank tied for ninth in the league in home points with 39 after 27 contests. Colorado has won nine consecutive games in a row at Pepsi Center and will look to tie the franchise record of 10 this evening when it hosts the Montreal Canadiens.

"We got to take advantage every time we're playing here at Pepsi Center," said Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth. "I think as a group, we want to play better on the road. We still have to adjust and fix some things with how we play there. So far, our home record has been really good, so we have to try to keep it up."
Colorado is coming off a 1-2-0 road trip and last played at home in a 3-1 win on Feb. 6 versus the San Jose Sharks. The Avs are in a stretch of playing 13-of-16 on the road, and their only games at Pepsi Center in that time are one-outing homestays.
The Avalanche is also in the midst of a five-team battle for the Western Conference's two postseason wild-card spots and is presently four points behind the Minnesota Wild for the last position.
Nathan MacKinnon's injury two weeks ago was ill-timed for Colorado's playoff race, as the team has had a difficult time finding its offensive game since then. The Avs have scored 14 goals in their last six games.
The club did receive a more balanced scoring attack in Sunday's 5-4 win at the Buffalo Sabres and look to build on that tonight against a Canadiens club that seems destined to miss the postseason.
"It is a necessity that we get guys to step up offensively in order to stay in this race, because .500, where we're clicking along right now, it's not bad with some of the injuries we have," said head coach Jared Bednar. "But Minny wins again last night, and we got to try and keep pace and stay in this thing until we can get healthy and try and make a run."

One of the benefits of being at home during this tough road stretch is the Avalanche's ability to have the last change on the ice. That allows Bednar to see who the opposing club puts out for faceoffs before deciding on his own personnel.
"It is a huge part of home-ice advantage," said forward J.T. Compher. "We've done a good job of managing matchups when different teams come into town. That is going to be key tonight, making sure our offensive guys are getting some good opportunities."
Colorado and Montreal last met three weeks ago on Jan. 23 at Bell Centre in a contest that saw the Canadiens win 4-2, ending the Avs' then 10-game winning streak. Compher and MacKinnon scored in the third period of that outing, but Montreal already had a secure lead going into the final frame.
"I think they came out with a lot of speed. I think they had their legs going," Nemeth recalled of the clubs' last meeting. "They were fired up, and I think we started to play late in the game, the third period. That is when we started to get rolling, but it was a little bit too late. We know we have to get a good start here tonight."

This evening's game is a special one for the Avalanche, as it is the 3,000th overall and 1,500th home contest in franchise history.
It also seems fitting that Colorado will play these milestone games against Montreal, as the franchise's first 1,256 contests came when it was the Quebec Nordiques, a provincial rival of the Canadiens for 16 seasons (1979-1995).
The Avs are the third franchise that joined the NHL during the 1979-80 expansion to reach the 3,000-game mark this week, along with the Arizona Coyotes (then Winnipeg Jets) and Carolina Hurricanes (then Hartford Whalers). The Edmonton Oilers will play their milestone outing on Thursday.

GAME-TIME DECISIONS

Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said he doesn't exactly know what his lineup will look like for this evening's outing as it depends on the health of Matt Nieto.
The forward hurt himself after Tuesday's practice, and the Avs recalled Rocco Grimaldi from the San Antonio Rampage to provide the club some insurance. If Nieto can't go, then Grimaldi will likely play versus the Habs.
To make room for Grimaldi, Colorado put Nathan MacKinnon on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 30. MacKinnon skated again on Wednesday morning and is getting closer to being recovered enough from his upper-body injury to play in a game.
"We want to make sure that we have an extra guy here because we don't have any extra forwards right now. We're at 12," Bednar said. "We needed the spot so we put MacKinnon on IR, backdate him and then he's good to play whenever he's ready."
Defenseman Mark Barberio and forward Blake Comeau also skated as they continue to recover from their lower-body ailments, and Comeau could make his return to the lineup in the near future.
"He skated today. I haven't talked to the trainers today, but that is a good sign," Bednar said. "He was supposed to go out on his own, skate awhile, see how it felt, and he stayed through the optional skate. We'll see tonight how he comes through that skate and see how he feels. Hopefully its good and we'll take the next step tomorrow, and we'll make a decision."

VARLY RETURNS TO PEPSI CENTER

Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov will make his first start at Pepsi Center in more than six weeks this evening.
Varlamov last took the home ice on Jan. 2 versus the Winnipeg Jets, but he had to leave midway through due to a lower-body injury. The Russian went on to miss a month of action before getting back into the crease for the Feb. 3 outing at Winnipeg.
Varlamov has played in three games and started two since his return but each of those contests have come on the road. He made 32-of-35 saves in his last outing, a 3-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
"Varly, I feel like he's been out for a long time, he's come back, played a couple games," Bednar said. "I liked his game in Carolina, we didn't give him any goal support. We're back to Varly tonight, we'll see how he plays and then we'll make a decision Thursday."

Bednar's plan is to use both Varlamov and Jonathan Bernier down the stretch and take a day-by-day approach. Bernier had won nine straight games before the team's loss in Montreal and is 12-3-1 since Dec. 31.
"We need to play the goalie that is hot and the goalie that is rested and the goalie that feels good against our opponent," Bednar said of his netminding tandem. "That's the things that we're evaluating on a daily basis right now. That is a day-by-day or couple-days-by-couple-days decision to make a plan for the week and try to stick with it."