Avs Prepare To Host Coyotes

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--With 15 contests left in the 82-game marathon that is the NHL season, the Colorado Avalanche finds itself in a push for the playoffs and every game is seemingly bigger than the last.
Colorado has come from behind in its last three outings to send the contests into overtime and earn an essential point in the standings. After a two-game road trip, the Avs come home for one matchup against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
"It's a huge game for us. At this point, every two points are really important for us," said Avalanche forward Matt Nieto. "We've had a good homestand recently, so tomorrow we are going to have to continue our success at home."

The Avs are 13-1-1 in their last 15 games at Pepsi Center, a stretch that included a franchise record tying 10-game home win streak and Colorado's best 14-game stretch ever at home (13-1-0).
The Avalanche averages 3.64 goals per game and is 23-8-2 on home ice this season, the club's most home victories since 2014-15.

"We have been good here all year, and it's exciting playing in front of our hometown fans. They have been great all year and their support has been outstanding, it's really been fueling us," said Tyson Jost. "We are excited we have a good home record, but we just got to keep that up, we can't just keep talking about it. We got to keep producing at home, and it's obviously nice we are comfortable here… We are excited for tomorrow. It's going to be a big game for us and a big two points."
Colorado had a full practice at Family Sports Center on Friday to prepare for Arizona, a club the Avs saw twice in December.
The Avalanche defeated the Coyotes 6-2 in Arizona on Dec. 23 but fell 3-1 in the Mile High City in the team's next outing on Dec. 27.
"They're a good team, and we can't take the game for granted," said Nieto. "They're going to make us work for two points. I believe the last time they came to Pepsi Center they beat us, so it's a huge game for us. We have to come out early and play a full 60."

The Coyotes have a 21-34-11 record and are 9-16-7 on the road, but their record is slightly deceiving as they are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
"Our life is on the line throughout this stretch here," said Jost. "We want to make the playoffs, that is where we want to be, so every game is a chance for us to grab two points and we need those two points. It doesn't matter who we are playing.
"The standings may not show it, but [Arizona] is a very skilled team and they can put up a fight against anyone. We know what to expect tomorrow, and we know what to expect from ourselves."

LINEUP NOTES

After suffering a head injury on Feb. 16 at the Winnipeg Jets, goaltender Jonathan Bernier will start in net for Colorado against Arizona.
Bernier is 17-11-2 this season and has started in 29 games for the Avalanche. For the club's previous two games, he has backed up Semyon Varlamov, who has been between the pipes to start the Avs' last 10 games and has played in the team's previous 12 contests.
During practice, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar altered his forward combinations from what they were in Colorado's game at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Gabriel Landeskog was back with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen after playing one game with Alex Kerfoot and J.T. Compher.
Sven Andrighetto was on a forward line with rookies Compher and Tyson Jost and Kerfoot moved to a combination with Gabriel Bourque and Dominic Toninato. Andrighetto returned to the lineup against Columbus after missing 28 games with a lower-body injury.
"I thought Andrighetto was good, he played with good speed and Kerfoot has been struggling a little bit here lately," said Bednar. "We are still making some lineup decisions for tomorrow, but there might be some changes."

INJURY UPDATES

Defenseman Erik Johnson was on the ice for the entire session in a red, non-contact jersey, but Bednar did not have any new information regarding a schedule for his return. It was Johnson's first team practice since he suffered an upper-body injury on Feb. 18 versus the Edmonton Oilers.
Rookie forward Vladislav Kamenev was a full-participant in the practice but the timeline on his return is still unknown.
"He's going back to see the doc today and then we should know a little bit more on his situation," said Bednar. "I think the first idea would probably be to send him down and get a couple games in to get the feel of playing games. Obviously, it's a big time of year for us here, and we want him to be as well prepared as he possibly can be to come and jump into our lineup to help us win."