Avalanche at Red Wings
Detroit general manager Ken Holland told reporters Wednesday that Petr Mrazek would be the Red Wings' No. 1 goaltender for the rest of the season, but the game log shows it's been that way for quite some time. Mrazek, who is 10-2-1 in his last 13 games, leads the NHL in save percentage (.934) and goals-against average (1.94) as Detroit tries for its fourth consecutive victory when it hosts the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
Mrazek started 17 of the first 31 games while sharing the duties with Jimmy Howard, but Howard has started only five times - with four losses in second contests of back-to-back games - since Mrazek took over Dec. 20. "I think he's played real good for a while now," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told reporters of Mrazek after Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Ottawa. "I'd also say that our team defense has something to do with that. Our guys have really, really played good defensively."
While Mrazek's play has helped Detroit move into second place in the Atlantic Division, Colorado gained possession of the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference after snapping a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) with a 4-3 victory in Ottawa on Thursday. "It was a big win for us when it hasn't been going our way," right wing Jarome Iginla told reporters after scoring a pair of power-play goals to increase his career total to 604. "... It is a weight off our shoulders breaking the bad slide. Now we've got to build upon this."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN Detroit
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (28-25-4): Iginla scored only once in 14 games prior to Thursday's outburst, which moved him into a tie for 22nd with Pat Verbeek on the NHL's all-time power-play goal list with 186. Nathan McKinnon has a club-leading 44 points after recording his 19th goal Thursday - also on the power play, which was 3-for-4 against the league's worst penalty-killing unit after Colorado went 3-for-31 in its previous nine games. Carl Soderberg has six points in his last six games after recording a pair of assists Thursday, increasing his team-high total to 29 - three shy of his career high.
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (28-18-8): Rookie Dylan Larkin boasts the team lead in goals (18) and points (38), and recorded three goals and two assists in the three games prior to being kept off the scoresheet against Ottawa. Captain Henrik Zetterberg (club-best 27 assists) scored his 10th goal Wednesday after recording a pair of assists in Monday's 3-0 victory over Florida. Defenseman Danny DeKeyser is day-to-day with a bruised right knee after he was struck with a Dion Phaneuf slap shot Wednesday while defenseman Mike Green missed his second straight game Wednesday because of a sore groin despite participating in the morning skate.
OVERTIME
1. Detroit C Pavel Datsyuk, who has two goals and three assists during a three-game point streak, needs two points for 900 in his career.
2. Colorado F Jack Skille (concussion) and G Reto Berra (ankle) did not accompany the team on the flight to Ottawa and remain on the injured-reserve list.
3. This is the first of two meetings this season with the second Feb. 27 at Coors Field - home of the Colorado Rockies - in the Coors Light Stadium Series. ... The road team has won five straight encounters.