Bruins at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche attempt to rebound from a rocky road trip when they host the Boston Bruins in the teams' last game prior to the All-Star break. The Avalanche went 1-2-2 on the five-game trek despite surrendering a combined 11 goals - mainly because they were limited to two tallies or fewer in each of their four defeats. Colorado won at Boston 2-1 on Oct. 13, continuing a trend in the series that has seen the road team win the last eight meetings.
The Bruins won for the sixth time in seven games with a 3-1 victory at Dallas on Tuesday night and have earned at least one point in 10 of their last 11 games (7-1-3). Boston is holding down the eighth and final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference but faces a rugged five-game stretch following the All-Star break. It includes a pair of matchups against the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders as well as battles against the red-hot New York Rangers and Montreal.
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TV: 10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE BRUINS (25-16-6): Defenseman Dougie Hamilton picked an opportune time to end a 12-game goal-scoring drought, scoring in the third period to give Boston some breathing room in Tuesday's victory. Hamilton, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2011 draft, also had an assist to establish career highs in goals (eight) and points (26) in his third season. Hamilton also contributed to another strong overall defensive performance by the Bruins, who have permitted only 11 goals in the last eight games and stymied Dallas on six power-play chances.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (19-18-10): Despite the offensive struggles of late, Matt Duchene has bounced back from a 12-game goalless drought by scoring three times in the past six contests to tie Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay for the team high with 13 tallies. Iginla, who played for the Bruins last season, needs one goal to break a tie with Mike Bossy (573) for sole possession of 20th place on the all-time list. “To be that consistent for this long - and you see him, he’s doing it again this year - is an amazing thing,” Boston forward Milan Lucic said.
OVERTIME
1. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov is 1-2-1 with a 2.12 goals-against average versus Boston.
2. Bruins F Brad Marchand, who leads the team with 12 goals, will return from a two-game suspension Wednesday.
3. Avalanche F Danny Briere, whose last-second game was the game-winner in the October matchup, has 43 points in 51 games against Boston.