Canucks at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference but would be in a much better position if not for their recent swoon. Colorado attempts to improve its place in the standings by taking advantage of a four-game homestand that begins Monday against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Avalanche are four points back in the race for the second wild-card spot in the West and eight behind Minnesota for third place in the Central Division after having lost seven of their last 11 contests (4-6-1), including a 5-1 decision at Calgary on Saturday. Nathan MacKinnon scored Colorado's lone goal in the setback, giving him five points over his last three games. Vancouver is coming off a 3-1 triumph at Arizona on Sunday that gave it a split of the first two contests of its three-game road trip. Daniel Sedin scored twice to give him five goals in as many games for the Canucks, who had lost four of their last five overall contests.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (24-31-7): Sedin scored his 136th career power-play goal Sunday to snap a tie with Daniel Alfredsson for second place on the all-time list among Swedish-born players. The 37-year-old Swede also netted his 85th game-winning tally in the triumph over the Coyotes to pass Maurice Richard for 28th place in NHL history. Captain Henrik Sedin appeared in his 1,310th NHL contest Sunday, breaking a deadlock with Marian Hossa for 60th all-time in the league.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (32-24-5): MacKinnon, who missed eight games with a shoulder injury earlier this month, will be facing Vancouver for the third time in his last six outings. The 22-year-old center, who leads Colorado in goals (26) and points (66), registered a tally and four assists in the first two of those meetings. Defenseman Duncan Siemens, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, appeared in his eighth NHL game Saturday and notched an assist for his first career point.
OVERTIME
1. Avalanche D Tyson Barrie set a franchise record for points by a defenseman in a regular-season game with five (goal, four assists) as the team went 5-for-6 on the power play in a 5-4 overtime victory at Vancouver on Tuesday.
2. Vancouver D Alex Edler is two points away from tying Mattias Ohlund (325) for most by a blue-liner in franchise history.
3. Colorado is kicking off its first homestand since a three-game string from Jan. 15-20.