That will change tomorrow night as the two sides get together at PNC Arena, and ahead of that, the Canes returned to practice Wednesday.
After a set of days off the ice, the team's first since the All-Star break, the rest was certainly welcomed at this juncture of the season.
"Even days where we come in and get a bike ride in, and not have to put our equipment on is a nice break," Ian Cole shared after practice with a smile. "We still came in, had a good work day on Monday, watched a little bit of video, got a little better in that sense and hit it pretty hard today."
Today's effort featured Frederik Andersen back with the group, rejoining the unit after not dressing for
Sunday's win over Seattle
. Alex Lyon was recalled on an emergency basis from Chicago on Saturday night to back up Antti Raanta after it was announced that Andersen would was not feeling 100%, but Lyon has since been
reassigned back to the club's American Hockey League affiliate
.
In addition to Andersen being on the ice, so was Brendan Smith, who has been out with an upper-body injury since February 20. Smith was also a participant in Sunday's morning skate as he works his way back from injury. While this does not mean he is ready to rejoin the lineup tomorrow, it is still a welcomed sight for the defender.
When the skate got underway, there were no structural changes to the team's lineup from Sunday's victory. The lines and defensive pairs, listed below, remained in tact.
As far as tomorrow's challenge goes, the Avs make their way to Raleigh after having played two games on the east coast already this week. The team squeaked out a 5-4 victory over the Islanders on Monday, but then fell to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 5-3 on Tuesday. Despite the defeat, their 87 points lead the NHL, four ahead of the Eastern Conference co-leaders, Carolina and Florida.
What's made Colorado so successful this season?
In a lot of ways they're the complete package, however, in pinpointing one aspect, their ability to score is among the best in the league. Led by Nazem Kadri's 72 points in 55 games, the forward is one of five skaters on the team that has over a point-per-game.
"We know they're a good team. They've got all the firepower in the world and it's going to be a big challenge for us," Rod Brind'Amour shared after practice. "The team has no weaknesses. They are where they are for a reason, it's that simple."
Not all five skaters that are better than a point-per-game come from their group up front though, as Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar paces all NHL defensemen with his 65 points in 54 games.
"There's nothing he doesn't do," Brind'Amour continued. "From a defense position, he's always able to be in the rush and he makes everyone who he is on the ice with better. He's pretty dynamic. He can get up, get back, defend. He's world class."
Their 230 goals as a team rank second only to Florida, coming out to an average of 3.91 per contest.
Tomorrow night's contest is the third in a four-game home stand for the Canes, as they'll host Philadelphia Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. and then quickly travel to Pittsburgh for a Sunday 1 p.m. bout.
Don't forget to change your manual clocks in between those games though.
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