Avalanche at Blue Jackets
The Colorado Avalanche vie for their seventh win in 10 contests when they open a two-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Captain Gabriel Landeskog collected a goal and two assists in Colorado's 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday and also tallied in a 4-3 setback to Columbus on Jan. 4. Jarome Iginla also scored in both contests and has reached the 20-goal plateau for the 16th time in his decorated career while needing one point to move past Bobby Clarke (1,210) for 43rd place on the all-time list.
The Avalanche are making a late charge and reside nine points behind Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. A seven-game skid pretty much derailed the slim postseason aspirations of the Blue Jackets, who posted their first victory since Feb. 19 with a 3-2 win over New Jersey on Friday. Brandon Dubinsky collected a goal and an assist in his return from a three-game absence due to a concussion and tallied twice in the first meeting with Colorado.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude2 (Colorado), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (28-25-11): Nathan MacKinnon will be sidelined six-to-eight weeks with a broken foot, effectively ending his regular season. The reigning Calder Trophy winner, MacKinnon suffered the initial injury against Tampa Bay on Feb. 22 and aggravated it after he was hit with a shot versus the Penguins. "Obviously, it's never good news when you're losing a player like Nate, especially in a key moment in our season," coach Patrick Roy said of the 19-year-old. "It's been a year like this and we're going to have to win games without him."
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (27-33-4): Justin Falk wasn't acquired from Minnesota this week for his offensive firepower, but the defenseman scored on Friday for the first time since Jan. 24, 2012. "It's a fresh start for me," said Falk, who also had an assist to secure his first points of the season. "I feel more comfortable with my new teammates." Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves on Friday, but backup Curtis McElhinney could get the nod versus the Avalanche as he searches for his first win since Feb. 19.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado G Semyon Varlamov is expected to make his 21st consecutive start but is just 7-9-6 on the road this season.
2. Columbus has set a franchise record with 413 man-games lost this season.
3. Avalanche RW Cody McLeod, who scored in the teams' first meeting, is expected to replace MacKinnon on the top line.