Avalanche at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks look to complete a sweep of their three-game homestand when they face off against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. Pacific Division-leading Anaheim is seeking its fourth straight win overall as it edged Minnesota on the road on March 13 before topping Nashville and Los Angeles at Honda Center, with the latter victory coming in overtime on Wednesday. The Ducks allowed the tying tally with 4:14 remaining in the third period before Ryan Kesler netted his 200th career goal 45 seconds into the extra session to give the club the lead in the race for the Presidents' Trophy.
Colorado kicked off its five-game road trip Thursday with its third straight victory, a 5-2 triumph at Arizona. Ryan O'Reilly and captain Gabriel Landeskog each recorded a goal and an assist as the Avalanche remained seven points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Anaheim won the opener of the three-game season series 3-2 on Nov. 2 in Colorado as defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Cam Fowler scored 1:44 apart in the second period to erase a 2-1 deficit.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN West (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (33-26-11): Colorado improved to 6-1-0 this month with the win over the Coyotes and is seeking its first four-game winning streak of the season. Semyon Varlamov has started 25 of the team's last 26 contests, and with the Avalanche still clinging to hopes of reaching the postseason, he likely will be in net against the Ducks. Freddie Hamilton had a game he'll never forget Thursday, scoring the first goal of his career in his 17th NHL contest.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (45-20-7): Anaheim has the Pacific all but wrapped up as it owns a 13-point lead over Vancouver - which has two games in hand - with 10 remaining. The Ducks also have their sights set on first place in the league standings as they enter Friday tied with Montreal for the most points (97) in the NHL. Defenseman Sami Vatanen could return to the lineup against the Avalanche after missing 15 contests with a leg injury.
OVERTIME
1. Vatanen leads all Ducks blue-liners in goals (12) and points (34).
2. Colorado C John Mitchell celebrated his 400th NHL game Thursday by notching an assist.
3. Anaheim leads the league in one-goal victories (28) and wins when trailing after two periods (12).