Avalanche at Sabres
THE STORY: The Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres have made spirited runs to put themselves in the postseason equation. The clubs will look to improve their standing at the other's expense on Wednesday when they meet in western New York. Colorado has won two in a row and four of five (4-1-0) to sit in a four-way tie for eighth place in the Western Conference. Buffalo has also claimed two straight victories and nine in its last 12 games (9-2-1) to pull within four points of eighth-place Washington in the East.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN2
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (37-30-4): Gabriel Landeskog isn't shy about shooting the puck. The second overall pick of the draft, Landeskog set the franchise record for shots in a rookie season and also collected his fourth game-winning goal in Monday's 3-2 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks. While Landeskog will face the Sabres for the first time, G Semyon Varlamov knows the Eastern Conference club well from his days with the Washington Capitals. Varlamov, who posted his seventh win in nine outings, is 2-0-1 with a shutout against the Sabres.
ABOUT THE SABRES (33-29-8): The First Niagara Center has proven to be a safe haven for Lindy Ruff's club, which has won five straight and collected points in 15 of its last 17 at home (11-2-4). LW Tyler Ennis tallied twice in a 3-2 overtime win over Montreal on Monday and has three goals in his last two games. The offensive outburst is of stark contrast to his previous nine contests, when he scored just one goal. G Ryan Miller has won nine of his last 11 starts, but has yet to defeat the Avalanche in three career meetings.
OVERTIME:
1. The Sabres will be without Tyler Myers, who netted the game-winner on Monday. The towering blue-liner was handed a three-game suspension by the NHL for his third-period hit on Canadiens C Scott Gomez.
2. Although they are infrequent rivals, Colorado has won the last four meetings with Buffalo. In the last contest, the Avalanche skated to a 4-3 overtime victory on Jan. 4, 2011.