Red Wings at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche appear to be back on track after stumbling out of the All-Star break with four straight losses and should get a huge emotional lift from a raucous crowd at Coors Field on Saturday night when they host the Detroit Red Wings as part of the NHL Stadium Series. Colorado has won five of seven and holds down No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.
Practice conditions were hardly optimum Friday with temperatures in the 60s and glare from the sun causing issues for both teams. "It was just the sun. It will be fine tomorrow," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said Friday. "The sun is so warm here. We knew it was going to happen." Detroit, which halted a four-game skid (0-2-2) with a 2-1 shootout win over Columbus on Tuesday, was limited to 20 minutes in practice due to the condition of the ice. "If it got any worse (tomorrow), there's no way we could play,” Red Wings center Darren Helm said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET; NBC, Sportsnet, TVA2
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (30-20-11): Detroit is receiving reinforcements on the blue line with defenseman Niklas Kronwall back in the lineup Tuesday following an absence of more than five weeks and the expected return of Jonathan Ericsson (lower body) on Saturday after missing the past six games. The Red Wings have allowed only three regulation goals in the past three games but have scored just three times in that span. Riley Sheahan ended a 17-game point drought dating to Jan. 10 with the lone regulation goal versus Columbus before converting in the shootout.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (32-27-4): Colorado has crawled back into postseason contention due to its success in nail-biters -- Wednesday's shootout win over San Jose boosted the team's record to 14-2-3 in one-goal games since Dec. 1. "We're improving and now it's up to us to prove where we stand," forward Alex Tanguay said. " We all believe in ourselves, but now is the time where you have to step it up. Now is our time to go out and get it." Among those narrow victories was a 3-2 shootout win at Detroit on Feb. 12 behind a 43-save performance from Semyon Varlamov.
OVERTIME
1. Varlamov is 2-5-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average versus Detroit.
2. Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has four assists in two outdoor games.
3. Avalanche F Jarome Iginla needs one goal to tie Dino Ciccarelli (608) for 17th place on the all-time list.