Avalanche at Wild
The Colorado Avalanche added a bit more speed to their lineup at the NHL's trade deadline as they seek to secure a postseason spot. One day after acquiring forward Mikkel Boedker from Arizona, the Avalanche look to strengthen their hold on the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
"I'm grateful for the situation that (the Coyotes) put me in when I was young," Boedker (13 goals, 26 assists) told TSN after being shipped to the Avalanche for fellow forwards Alex Tanguay and Conner Bleackley and defenseman Kyle Wood. "I was drafted by them, but now it's on to Colorado. Let's see if I can help them win hockey games and go on a playoff run." The Avalanche have dropped two of their last three overall and two of three this season to the Wild, who moved within two points of Colorado with a 3-1 win over Florida on Sunday. Erik Haula scored his career-high eighth goal in the victory and has three tallies and six assists in his last eight games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (32-28-4): John Mitchell scored in a 5-4 season-opening loss to Minnesota on Oct. 8 to ignite a four-game goal streak and also tallied in overtime to seal a 2-1 win over the Wild on Dec. 7. Unfortunately for 31-year-old Mitchell, he has just one goal and two assists in his last 23 games. Captain Gabriel Landskog was also in a prolonged slump until recently, as the 23-year-old Swede has scored one goal and set up five others in his last four games - including two assists in Saturday's 5-3 setback to Detroit.
ABOUT THE WILD (28-25-10): General manager Chuck Fletcher told reporters that he felt Minnesota didn't need to make a splash deal at the NHL's trade deadline in order to qualify for the playoffs. Fletcher stayed true to his word for the most part, although the Wild made three moves on Monday - "highlighted" by the team acquiring forward David Jones from Calgary for veteran goaltender Niklas Backstrom. In addition, Minnesota picked up defenseman Conor Allen from Ottawa for left wing Michael Keranen and acquired right wing Scott Sabourin from Los Angeles for center Brett Sutter - with both Wild players expected to be sent to Iowa of the American Hockey League.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota C Charlie Coyle leads the team with 19 goals, including nine in his last 17 games.
2. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov, who has yielded four goals in each of his last two contests, turned aside 60-of-63 shots to split his last two meetings with the Wild.
3. Minnesota activated Jonas Brodin from injured reserve after he missed 12 games with a broken foot and sent fellow D Christian Folin to Iowa.