Avalanche at Flames
The Calgary Flames need to find a way to translate their success on the road to their home rink when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon. Calgary snapped a three-game slide with a 5-2 victory at league-worst Arizona on Thursday, but it has recorded only one win in its last eight games (1-3-4) at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames received a huge scare when leading scorer Johnny Gaudreau had to leave the ice in the opening seconds of Thursday's win after taking an accidental stick to the face, but he returned to score once and set up two other goals. Calgary, which is a woeful 13-14-4 at home, swept the season series a year ago and extended its winning streak in the series with a 3-2 victory at Colorado on Nov. 25. The Avalanche have dropped three of four to remain stuck in 11th place in the congested Western Conference, two points behind the Flames and Los Angeles. "Tomorrow is a big game for us," Colorado forward Gabriel Bourque said at Friday's practice. "Both teams are fighting for a playoff spot, so it's going to be an intense game. We're going to have to be ready and prepared."
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (32-23-5): Colorado erased a two-goal deficit only to fall in overtime 3-2 at Edmonton, part of a brutal stretch that will see the team play on the road for the 13th time in 16 games Saturday. "Any time you're on the road and you're on for an extended period of time, it is a little bit grueling," defenseman David Warsofsky said. "People say the last game is always the hardest, and hopefully we can get two points tomorrow and head back with a win." Defenseman Nikita Zadorov was benched for the final period Thursday.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (31-22-9): Gaudreau has failed to collect a point in only one of 12 games in February, collecting five goals and 11 assists this month to move into second place in the league scoring race with 73 points -- five shy of his career high. With forward Micheal Ferland out of the lineup, Sam Bennett settled in nicely on the No. 1 line with Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, scoring a goal and an assist as the unit combined to put up seven points Thursday. "They're great players," Bennett said. "They make guys around them better."
OVERTIME
1. Gaudreau has five goals in 10 games versus Colorado.
2. The Avalanche are 6-for-35 on the power play in the past 10 games, with five of the scores coming in one contest.
3. Calgary is 7-for-18 with the extra skater during a five-game streak.