Not that they ever seem to make things a little easier for themselves, but the Avalanche can improve their chances of making the playoffs with a win in Dallas on Thursday.

The GAME NOTES

It’s a quick one-game trip before they play Buffalo in a Saturday matinee to begin a four-game homestand.

Semyon Varlamov will start in goal and Andrew Agozzino will play after being recalled from the Colorado Eagles on Wednesday. He’s expected to replace Sheldon Dries on the fourth line.

Varlamov is 5-1-1 with one shutout, a 2.40 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in his past seven starts.

Agozzino scored his first NHL goal and had an assist on Feb. 18 against Vegas after being called up and was sent back to the Eagles after playing in three more games. He leads the AHL team in scoring with 26 goals and 57 points in 52 games.

Defenseman Ryan Graves replaces Nikita Zadorov, who has an upper-body injury and didn't make the trip.

The Avalanche have 70 points with 15 games remaining and are ninth in the Western Conference, two points behind Minnesota for the second wild card playoff position and three behind Dallas for the first wild card.

The Wild are in Tampa Bay on Thursday. Arizona, which trails Colorado by a point, is home against Calgary.

"Our goal is to get in and be in that wild card spot, if not up higher," Tyson Barrie told the Avalanche web site. "We are looking all the time and checking scores and seeing what other teams are doing. It is human nature to do that, but at the end of the day all we can control is how we play and continue to win, so that is our focus."

The Avalanche won the first two meetings with the Stars at the Pepsi Center, 3-2 on Nov. 24 and 6-4 on Dec. 15.

The Avalanche are coming off a 4-3 overtime win against Detroit on Tuesday that ended a two-game losing streak. They are 6-2-1 in the past nine games and 7-3-1 in the past 11.

The probable lineup:

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Colin Wilson -- Carl Soderberg -- J.T. Compher
Derick Brassard -- Tyson Jost -- Matt Calvert
Andrew Agozzino -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Sven Andrighetto

Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie
Patrik Nemeth -- Ryan Graves

Semyon Varlamov
Philipp Grubauer



Follow @RickS7

Join the Discussion: » 5 Comments » Post New Comment

» One-year deal for Johansson

» One more postseason disappointment

» Bednar cleared to coach tonight; MacKinnon Hart finalist

» Cale Makar a Norris Trophy finalist

» Jost: Do or die Game 5 tonight; Kadri suspension upheld