The Avalanche need some help, but they could move into the second wild card playoff position in the Western Conference with a win against Minnesota at the Pepsi Center on Friday.

They are one point behind Anaheim, which is home to Columbus on Friday. The Wild, who lost 5-3 in Arizona on Thursday, are third in the Central Division, six points in front of the Avalanche.

Here are the GAME NOTES.

Defenseman Anton Lindholm will return after missing five games with an upper-body injury. He'll be paired with Duncan Siemens.

The Avalanche have won two consecutive games, are 3-1-1 in their past five games and 12-1-0 in the past 13 at home.

The Avalanche are 1-0-1 against Minnesota this season. They lost 3-2 in a shootout in St. Paul on Nov. 24 and won 7-2 at home on Jan. 6. The teams will meet once more after Friday, March 13 in Minnesota.

"I guess they hate us, we hate them," defenseman Nikita Zadorov said after the morning skate. "It's always fun to play against them, especially right now with the standings being close. The one thing we can control is our game. We're going to do everything to get a win.

"We're playing for a playoff spot, but we're also playing for respect. I think we don't have enough of it around the league. I don't think anyone expected us to be where we are right now, or even close to that. We're playing for our names, for our team and for our fans."

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The Avalanche announced Friday they have signed defenseman Conor Timmins to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2018-19 season.

Colorado drafted Timmins, 19, with their second-round pick (No. 32) last summer. He has 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 30 games with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League.

Timmins won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo. The 6-feet-2, 184-pounder had a goal and four assists in the tournament.

"Conor had a great training camp with us and we are excited with the growth he's shown this season," general manager Joe Sakic said in a statement. "He's had another strong year in the OHL and played important minutes for Canada's gold medal team at the world juniors. We are proud to have him with our organization."

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BSNDenver.com reported that Dan Millstein, the agent for Andrei Mironov, said the defenseman is returning to the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia. According to the report, the Avalanche have placed Mironov on waivers and terminated the remainder of his two-year, entry level contract.

The Avalanche drafted Mironov, 23, in the fourth round (No. 101) in the 2015 NHL draft. He had a goal, two assists and 12 penalty minutes with Colorado this season, and a goal, eight assists and 26 penalty minutes in 26 games with San Antonio of the AHL.

Here's the Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Gabriel Bourque -- Dominic Toninato -- J.T. Compher

DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie
Patrik Nemeth -- Samuel Girard
Duncan Siemens -- Anton Lindholm

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Spencer Martin



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