Avalanche at Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday with the expectations for each team significantly different as they begin the "second half" of the regular season. Anaheim is third in the Pacific Division, one point behind San Jose and Edmonton and 10 clear of Calgary, with its sights set on the postseason while Colorado owns the fewest points in the NHL and hopes to build for the future as a potentially major seller in advance of the March 1 trade deadline.
The Ducks are expected to be bolstered Tuesday by the return of Jakob Silfverberg, who missed the previous three games with a concussion. "I feel pretty good, but hopefully I'll be ready to go after the break," Silfverberg told reporters last week. "... Hopefully I'll be even stronger when I get back.'' Silfverberg (13 goals) is a key cog in Anaheim's most effective two-way line as Ryan Kesler (18 goals, team-best 39 points) and Andrew Cogliano (10 goals) are 1-2-3 on the team in plus-minus rating while usually tasked with shutting down the opponent's top unit. The Avalanche lost their last seven contests (0-6-1) prior to the All-Star break and are 2-16-1 since Dec. 11, when they last won in regulation. The Ducks won the last three meetings, including the first two of three encounters this season - 4-1 in Denver on Jan. 12 and 2-1 at home Jan. 19 - with goalie John Gibson winning both games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, Sportsnet 1, Altitude (Colorado), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (13-31-2): General manager Joe Sakic said Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are the only "untouchables" on the roster, so players such as Matt Duchene (third overall pick in 2009 draft) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (second in 2011) could be traded for the right price. Semyon Varlamov is out for the season with a groin injury, so Colorado should find out if Calvin Pickard or Spencer Martin is the answer in goal moving forward. Rene Bourque (nine goals in 41 games) could return after missing three games with a lower-body injury and is one of many Avalanche players who could be auditioning for a new team.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (27-15-9): Anaheim is poised to make a run at its second Stanley Cup title and would not be in such a good position without the play of Rickard Rakell and Kesler. Rakell owns a team-high 20 goals and has been the best performer on the Ducks' top point-producing line that includes Corey Perry and captain Ryan Getzlaf while Kesler appears to be the favorite to win his second Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. Perry boasts 339 career goals but only nine this season while Getzlaf has seven goals and a club-best 30 assists as they head for their worst seasons since their rookie campaigns of 2005-06.
OVERTIME
1. Rakell, who matched his career high in goals this season after scoring 20 in 72 games in 2015-16, is fifth in the league with a 21.7 shooting percentage among those who have played at least 20 contests and tied for seventh in the NHL with five game-winning goals.
2. Avalanche C Joe Colborne scored three goals in his first game of the season but none in 35 contests since.
3. Anaheim is one of five teams in the NHL whose power play and penalty-killing percentages are in the top 10 - joining Columbus, Toronto, Minnesota and St. Louis - while Colorado is one of four clubs with the units in the bottom 10 (New York Islanders, Vancouver and Arizona).