Avalanche at Coyotes
The Colorado Avalanche are likely going to remain on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture - but that hasn't prevented the team from ending its season on a high. The Avalanche seek their 11th win in 15 games Thursday night as they visit the woeful Arizona Coyotes. Colorado sits seven points outside a playoff spot, but is coming off impressive one-goal wins over the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames.
The Avalanche's hot streak is a good bet to continue Thursday against a Coyotes team that has managed just one victory over its last 16 games and appears to be more concerned with draft pick positioning than winning games. The offense has been the most disappointing part of the team's cold spell, managing just seven goals in seven games this month. The second-half swoon includes a 5-2 triumph by the Avalanche on Feb. 16.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ALT2 (Colorado), FS-AZ (Arizona)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (32-26-11): Experts are confounded at how Colorado managed to get so many disappointing performances from so many talented young forwards; captain Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Nathan McKinnon have all had difficult campaigns, and none of the team's others - save for Jarome Iginla - have stepped up. The power play has been the team's biggest and most unexpected letdown, ranked second-to-last in the NHL in efficiency at just 13.8 percent. But the man advantage has shown signs of life, scoring five times in March - once more than it did in the entire month of February.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (21-41-8): How bad have things gone for Arizona netminder Mike Smith? His 34-save performance in Monday's 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings pushed him over the .900 save percentage mark for the first time all season - and he didn't really care all that much about the achievement. "I haven't even looked at my stats," Smith told the Arizona Republic. "I couldn't tell you anything about my stats. I think with how rough this season has gone, I think that's the last thing to think about. My goals right now have nothing to do with my stats."
OVERTIME
1. Colorado has won five of the last six meetings.
2. The Coyotes penalty killing unit ranks 26th with a 78.3 percent success rate.
3. Smith is 8-1-4 with a 2.02 goals-against average in 13 games against the Avalanche.
PREDICTION: Avalanche 4, Coyotes 1