Avalanche at Blue Jackets
THE STORY: Sitting two points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche won't be lacking for motivation when they visit the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. Still, the Avalanche may have additional inspiration against the Blue Jackets, who on consecutive days have made a pair of trades to strengthen two of Colorado's chief competitors for a postseason berth. The Avalanche have dominated the series with Columbus, winning eight of the last nine meetings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ALT, FSOH
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (30-27-4): Paul Stastny scored a pair of goals in Wednesday's win over Los Angeles to take over the team lead with 16. One of the goals was assisted by Matt Duchene, who returned to the lineup after missing 20 games with a knee injury. Duchene led the team in goals (27) and assists (40) last season and could provide an offensive jolt down the stretch. RW Steve Downie, acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay on Tuesday, played on a line with LW Gabriel Landeskog and C Ryan O'Reilly in his Colorado debut.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (18-35-7): With rumors swirling about a possible trade of captain Rick Nash, Columbus instead sent Antoine Vermette to the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday before shipping Jeff Carter to Los Angeles for D Jack Johnson and draft picks on Thursday. Carter was part of a blockbuster offseason trade with Philadelphia, but he missed 20 games due to injury and struggled offensively until notching a hat trick in what turned out to be his final game with the Blue Jackets. Nash could still be dealt before Monday's deadline.
OVERTIME:
1. Blue Jackets G Steve Mason has lost seven straight decisions (0-5-2) against the Avalanche.
2. Colorado G Semyon Varlamov set a career high with his 16th win in Wednesday's victory over Los Angeles.
3. The Avalanche have won four of the last five meetings in Columbus, including a 3-2 victory in October. Duchene supplied the winning goal in the shootout.