Avalanche at Ducks
With their third straight Pacific Division title already secured, the Anaheim Ducks continue their quest for the Presidents' Trophy when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. Anaheim skated to its fourth straight victory and 50th of the season with a 5-1 triumph over Edmonton on Wednesday.
"In baseball, they'd be having a champagne party here, but this isn't baseball," coach Bruce Boudreau told the Orange County Register. "To us, it's another step closer to solidifying where we want to be." While Anaheim awaits the postseason, Colorado has dropped five of seven (2-4-1) and is clinging to its faint hopes as it resides eight points behind Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche will complete a three-game trek versus Los Angeles on Saturday before finishing the regular season with three consecutive home games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, RSN, Altitude (Colorado), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (35-30-12): Although admitting the deck clearly is stacked against his club, Matt Duchene isn't interested in letting up over the final five games of the season. "We want to win all of them," Duchene told the Denver Post after he scored the lone goal in a 5-1 setback to San Jose on Wednesday. "You never know. We want to give ourselves a chance still. Until we're mathematically eliminated, we want to win games."
ABOUT THE DUCKS (50-22-7): Corey Perry scored his team-leading 33rd goal against the Oilers for his 600th career point and also tallied twice this season against Colorado, including netting the overtime winner in a 3-2 victory on March 20. The Ducks have won four straight meetings with the Avalanche and hold a two-point lead over the New York Rangers in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Ryan Kesler is expected to return to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday's tilt due to a minor arm injury and defenseman Clayton Stoner (lower body) also could face the Avalanche.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim LW Andrew Cogliano, who recorded a goal and an assist versus Edmonton, was selected as the team's nominee for the 2014-15 Bill Masterton Trophy on Thursday.
2. Colorado's Reto Berra will receive his second straight start and fellow G Semyon Varlamov will get the call Saturday versus Los Angeles.
3. The Ducks are 1-for-16 on the power play in their last eight games.