Avalanche at Predators
With their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, the Colorado Avalanche need to win their final three games and get some help as they prepare to visit the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. The Avalanche have unraveled down the stretch, dropping three games in a row and five of their last six to move to the brink of elimination.
Colorado trails Minnesota by five points for the eighth playoff spot and would need to win its final three and have the Wild falter in their last two games to reach the postseason. "We're fighting for our lives," Avalanche leading scorer Matt Duchene said. "We're going to have to show what kind of mental fortitude we have, and right now it's not as good as it could be and we need to be better." The Predators are locked into the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but they are stumbling to the finish line with four straight losses, including a 4-3 setback to visiting Colorado on March 28. Nashville has three games left to get untracked before a likely first-round playoff match against either Anaheim or Los Angeles.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN Tennessee (Nashville)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (39-36-4): Colorado coach Patrick Roy has not seen enough offense from his team, which has produced only four goals during the three-game skid, and the lone tally he saw in Sunday's 5-1 loss to St. Louis - scored by Duchene in a lopsided rout - drew his ire. "The thing I have a hard time is the reaction of Dutchy after he scores. ... Are you kidding me? What is that?" Roy said. "I mean, it's not the (reaction) we want from our guys, not at all." It was the 30th goal for Duchene, who has nine tallies in 24 games versus Nashville.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (39-26-14): Nashville is having all kinds of trouble keeping the puck out of its own net, surrendering 14 goals over a three-game span before blowing a two-goal lead in the third period of a 3-2 shootout loss to visiting San Jose on Saturday. The Predators could be getting some reinforcements back along the blue line with Ryan Ellis and rookie Anthony Bitetto getting close to a return. Ellis said at Monday's practice that he is hoping to be back in the lineup Tuesday while Bitetto is wishing to return before the start of the postseason.
OVERTIME
1. Predators G Pekka Rinne has allowed 10 goals in his last three starts, including three in the first period versus Colorado on March 28.
2. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov was yanked from Sunday's loss versus St. Louis, but is 11-4-1 against Nashville.
3. Predators F Filip Forsberg has five goals and 10 points in 10 games against Colorado.