Avalanche at Coyotes
Colorado is the only team which is mathematically eliminated from postseason contention and while it appears Arizona will be next, the Coyotes try to stave off the inevitable for a little longer by earning two points when they host the Avalanche on Monday. Arizona is coming off a thrilling 5-4 victory over New Jersey on Saturday while Colorado failed in its fourth attempt at a three-game winning streak this season with a 4-2 home loss to Ottawa on the same night.
Three rookies - Brendan Perlini, and defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Anthony DeAngelo - scored for the Coyotes on Saturday as the youth movement is in full swing. The teams split the first two of three meetings this season with each winning on the road as Arizona prevailed 4-2 on Nov. 8 behind a goal and two assists from Max Domi after Colorado won 3-2 on Oct. 29 when Matt Duchene scored twice. Duchene, though, hasn't recorded a point in his last 10 games and scored once in his past 24 contests, and was dropped to the third line Saturday by coach Jared Bednar. “I’m not going to give you much on this. I can’t right now. …'' Duchene told reporters. "This is crazy. Know what? I’m going to keep working, be a good team guy. I’ve been here before. I can work out of it. That’s the way things have gone this year.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (19-45-3): Duchene (16 goals, 36 points) and captain Gabe Landeskog (28 points) were among the players shopped at the trade deadline, but there were no takers, and while Duchene is struggling, Landeskog scored four of his 15 goals in the last eight games. Matt Nieto scored Saturday and has five goals in 29 games since being claimed off waivers from San Jose on Jan. 5. Nathan MacKinnon, one of two players deemed untouchable by general manager Joe Sakic (Mikko Rantanen was the other), leads the club with 44 points and 30 assists, and scored in each of the two games prior to Saturday.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (24-35-8): Tobias Rieder (31 points) scored his career-high 15th goal Saturday and has two tallies and four assists in his last five games. "I feel like I could have reached fifteen a little earlier but sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't," Rieder told reporters. "It feels good, though. It's good that the work pays off." Radim Vrbata (club-most 49 points) scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season Saturday and the 153rd as a Coyote, moving him ahead of Jeremy Roenick and Laurie Boschman into eighth on the franchise scoring list.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado is the only team in the league averaging fewer than two goals (1.96) and allows the most (3.28), with Arizona next (3.22) entering Sunday's games.
2. Arizona scored twice on the power play Saturday for the third time this season and first occasion since Dec. 21.
3. The Avalanche won five of their last six games in Arizona, but are 2-12-2 versus the Pacific Division this season.