Avalanche at Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks ride a three-game winning streak for the first time since opening the season 4-0-0 and are suddenly three points out of playoff position in the Western Conference. The Canucks look to continue their rise Monday night when they host the struggling Colorado Avalanche, who own the least points in the league (25) after losing eight of their last nine.
“We have got lots of confidence in the group right now,” Vancouver’s leading scorer Bo Horvat told reporters after a 3-2 shootout victory at Edmonton on Saturday. “It has been a long time since we have won three straight and a while since we have had a fairly healthy lineup.” The Canucks allowed five goals during their win streak and are 5-1-1 in the last seven home games as they prepare to take on the Avalanche, who suffered a 6-2 setback against the New York Rangers on Saturday for their third straight loss. Colorado is the lowest-scoring team in the league (2.06 per game) and gives up the most goals (3.36) after allowing 16 in the last three outings. Vancouver must keep an eye on offensive defenseman Tyson Barrie, who owns six assists during a four-game point streak.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Altitude2 (Colorado), Sportsnet Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (12-23-1): A team that seemed to have so much offensive talent on paper has not put it together this season as Nathan MacKinnon (25) and Matt Duchene (24) are the only players with more points than Barrie (19). One example of disappointment on offense is center Joe Colborne, who registered a hat trick in the season opener and has not scored since. Goalie Semyon Varlamov (groin) is questionable and his replacement Calvin Pickard has given up 15 goals in three games since beating Chicago on Dec. 23.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (17-18-3): Horvat posted four assists in the last three games to edge past captain Henrik Sedin for the team lead with 25 points. The captain has goals in two of his last three games and his twin brother Daniel Sedin is struggling of late while going five games without a point and remaining one assist shy of 600 for his career. Backup Jacob Markstrom got the win in net Saturday, finishing with a .929 save percentage in December, and fellow netminder Ryan Miller needs one victory to become the 21st goalie in NHL history to reach the 350 plateau.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado F Mikko Rantanen, who was leading Finland to the World Junior Championship at this time last year, is fourth on the team with 16 points.
2. Vancouver came into Sunday 28th in the league on the power play (13.8 percent), one spot ahead of Colorado (13.1), which is 1-for-37 in its last nine games.
3. The Canucks won three of the last four meetings, including a 3-2 shootout triumph Nov. 26.