Morning Skate Report: Avs Look to Tighten Up Playoff Race

In the tight Western Conference standings, the Colorado Avalanche's game at the Dallas Stars tonight could be one of the biggest of the year due to the playoff implications of the matchup.
The Avalanche and Stars are separated by three points in the standings, with the rival Minnesota Wild in between them. Dallas holds the first wild-card position in the Western Conference with 73 points, while Minnesota sits in the second spot with 72 points. Colorado is currently in ninth place in the west with 70.

"This is going to be a fun game, we have to treat this like a playoff game. It's that simple," said head coach Jared Bednar. "Looking at both teams, they are trying to kick us out of the race and we have to find a way to [stay] in the race here, and we need the two points. It should be a fun game for us."
The Avalanche is coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. Tyson Barrie tied the game with 1:35 remaining in regulation, and Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner in the extra frame to help Colorado sweep the season series with the Red Wings.
"If we find a way to get in to the playoffs this year, you are going to look back at that game and go, 'wow that was big,'" Bednar said of the game against Detroit. "They are all going to be big here to the end, there's no question... Good stick-to-itiveness by our group, I liked the resiliency [in that game], going to need a lot of that again here tonight, a lot of second effort on pucks. This is a really good Dallas team that is firing on all cylinders, and we got to be ready to play. This is a big one for us."
Colorado is 6-2-1 in its last nine games and has won three straight matchups against Central Division rivals.
It is the third meeting between the Avs and Stars this campaign and the first in Dallas. Colorado won the first two contests at Pepsi Center, winning 3-2 on Nov. 24 and 6-4 on Dec. 15.
"They have got some D that can move the puck, they jump in the play. They've got hard working forwards--a big, long group--and then they got star players that are real dangerous and their power play is real good too," said Bednar. "There is a lot to think about. When it comes down to it, we are going to have to outcompete these guys tonight.
"We need to skate and make our speed a factor, they are a fast team, so you got to compete on both sides of the puck here and the team that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win the hockey game."
The clubs will wrap up the season series in exactly two weeks when the Avalanche visits American Airlines Center again on March 21.

LINEUP NOTES

Defenseman Ryan Graves will be back in the lineup tonight, while Nikita Zadorov will miss the game with an upper-body injury.
Graves has skated in 20 games with the Avalanche this year since he made his NHL debut on Dec. 27 at the Vegas Golden Knights. He has recorded five points (three goals, two assists) with Colorado.
Andrew Agozzino will also be back in the lineup after he was recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. He will be on a line with Sven Andrighetto and Alexander Kerfoot.
Semyon Varlamov is also expected to get the start in net. He owns a 15-6-2 mark in 24 career games against Dallas, including a 2.94 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.

VIEW: Avalanche Projected Lineup vs. Stars