Blues at Avalanche
THE STORY: The Colorado Avalanche have discovered a simple formula for winning: Play at home and make sure the game goes to a shootout. The Avalanche will put their six-game home winning streak on the line Wednesday when they meet the St. Louis Blues. Colorado defeated Philadelphia 3-2 in a shootout Monday to improve to 6-0 in the bonus format this season – three during the home winning streak – and has won a remarkable 17 of its last 18 shootouts. St. Louis has won five of its last six, including a 6-4 victory over Columbus on Sunday. The Blues are 3-0-3 on the road since Ken Hitchcock took over as coach and will try to earn a point in seven straight road games for the first time since 2000. The Avalanche defeated the Blues 3-2 in a shootout at home Dec. 2 and have won eight of the last nine meetings, including five straight at home.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, FS Midwest (St. Louis), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE BLUES (19-9-4): St. Louis has been sparked by the return of left wing David Perron, who has two goals and seven points in seven games since returning from a concussion. Young defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo have thrived in Hitchcock’s system, which has helped the Blues outscore opponents by 1.57 goals in 5-on-5 situations, third in the NHL behind Boston and Detroit. Brian Elliott is 13-2-0 and leads the league in goals against average (1.43) and save percentage (.948).
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (16-17-1): Jean-Sebastien Giguere improved to 6-4-0, 1.85, .929 following his 31-save effort Monday in his second straight win filling in for Semyon Varlamov, who is nursing a back injury. Colorado was also missing defenseman Kyle Quincey and forward David Jones, who are questionable Wednesday with groin injuries. Left wing Gabriel Landeskog, the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, ended an 18-game goalless drought Monday with his first at home after previously potting five on the road.
OVERTIME:
1. Colorado has allowed 11 goals in its last six home games.
2. St. Louis, which has the league’s worst power play at 11 percent, is 6-21-4 in its last 31 trips to Denver.