Canucks at Avalanche
It appears the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks are destined to finish outside the top three in their divisions, but Tuesday's game in Denver could feature a playoff vibe as the clubs battle for the two wild-card positions in the Western Conference. Colorado and Nashville own those two spots with 58 points apiece - good for fourth in the Central Division and 10 points behind third-place St. Louis, but three clear of Minnesota in the wild-card race.
Vancouver has lost four straight (0-3-1) following Saturday's 4-1 loss to Calgary and, like Minnesota and Arizona (54 points), has played three games fewer than Colorado - one fewer than Nashville. "It's frustrating and we've got to start turning the corner," Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller told reporters. "... We've got to start digging ourselves out." The Avalanche have dropped three consecutive games (0-2-1) after Saturday's inexplicable 4-2 loss at home to last-place Winnipeg. "I would say since the All-Star break we haven't played a good game," Colorado coach Patrick Roy told reporters. "We're not sharp, and it's too bad because it comes at the wrong moment. We put ourselves in a playoff spot and we had a chance with three games at home to start where we left off. We should be disappointed right now. We cannot be happy about the way we've been playing in the last three games. We're making too many mistakes."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (20-20-12): Vancouver is completely healthy for the first time since early November as defenseman Dan Hamhuis returned Saturday after missing 21 games because of facial fractures. Henrik Sedin (team-best 28 assists) continues to get his legs back after playing his second game since missing four prior to the All-Star break (upper-body injury). Daniel Sedin paces the club with 21 goals and 44 points, but hasn't recorded a point in two games since the break.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (27-24-4): Semyon Varlamov played his first game Saturday since missing four while dealing with a civil suit involving an alleged domestic violence incident with a former girlfriend. The 27-year-old Russian was riding a four-game winning streak prior to his down time and must regain that form if Colorado is to maintain its playoff position. Matt Duchene scored his team-high 24th goal Saturday and shares the club lead in points at 43 with Nathan MacKinnon.
OVERTIME
1. The Canucks scored one power-play goal in 12 chances over their last eight games.
2. The Avalanche are the only Central Division team that doesn't average better than a point per game at home this season (12-12-4).
3. Colorado won two of the three meetings last season and has been victorious in four of the last five encounters.