The Avs are coming off a two-game road trip in Western Canada where they only picked up one point during their back-to-back contests at the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, but the players are still confident in the direction the squad is going.
"I think we've done a good job of playing really well in every game," said forward Colin Wilson. "Even in the games we've lost, we've been in every game, it's been close. I think we're confident as a team. It doesn't matter who we are playing, we can win."
The Predators--last year's Presidents' Trophy winners, who finished the regular season with the best record in the league--will be a formidable test for the Avalanche. Nashville has returned to its spot at the top of the leagues standings at 11-3-0 and is undefeated on the road so far.
"I think there is a hunger to their team at the start of this year," said head coach Jared Bednar when analyzing the Preds. "They went to the Final two years ago, they had a real good season last year and then came up short. I see a little more fire out of their group this year than I saw through the regular season last year, hence their start. I think they're good at home, I think they're 6-0 on the road now. They're a team that is firing on all cylinders. We know they have the ability to be a Cup contender and they are certainly playing that way early in the season."
Colorado pushed its Round 1 playoff series versus Nashville to six games, which ended up being the longest opening series in the Western Conference.
"I like the way we matched up against them last year," Wilson said of the Predators. "The way we played against them, we were really strong. It should be a good game."
Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov will get the start in net for the game. He missed the entire playoff series after injuring his knee late in the season.
Tickets for Colorado's Division Rival Night game versus Nashville are still available.
