In case you missed it, here's my
Tyson Barrie feature.
The Avalanche (33-26-12, 78 points) managed to pick up a point Friday in a 3-2 overtime loss in Anaheim -- probably one more than expected after playing in Arizona on Thursday -- moving them within six points of Winnipeg (84 points) for the second wild card playoff position in the West.
But that's likely to change Saturday. The standings are so tight that a number of teams jockeying for playoff berths will probably switch places.
The Jets are home against Washington, and they trail Minnesota (85 points) by one point for the first wild card spot; the Wild are home against St. Louis, which leads the Central Division.
Los Angeles (82 points), which is two points behind Winnipeg and four ahead of the Avalanche, is home against Vancouver (84 points, second in Pacific Division). Calgary (83 points, third in the Pacific) is home against Columbus. San Jose (78 points) is at Montreal. The Sharks have two more wins than the Avalanche and have a 32-24 lead in regulation and overtime wins.
*****
Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves against the Ducks while starting for the 26th time in 27 games.
"It just tells you how important the goaltender becomes, and it is important for us to count on Varly every night, and he's been doing just that," coach
Patrick Roy told reporters.
Trailing 1-0 in the third period, the Avalanche rallied to take a 2-1 lead when
Matt Duchene set up
Jarome Iginla for his 24th goal at 5:28 and
Ryan O'Reilly scored while shorthanded at 7:19.
But the Ducks tied it at 9:04 on a goal by
Rickard Rakell and
Corey Perry scored 1:25 into overtime on a breakaway after
Sami Vatanen poked the puck free from Avalanche defenseman
Brad Stuart. Vatanen missed the previous 15 games because of a lower-body injury.
"We're playing hard and we're playing well," Duchene said. "It's too bad we couldn't have got that one, but three out of four (points) on the road in a back-to-back situation, you know it's not bad.
"I think we're happy, but we're not over the moon about it. We put ourselves in a situation to win that game. It's too bad we couldn't have (won it)."
The Avalanche, who failed to extend their winning streak to what would have been a season high four in a row, are 9-4 in shootouts but just 2-8 in overtime.
They flew home after the game, are taking Saturday off and will practice Sunday before heading to Calgary for Monday's game against the Flames.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
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