Avs Finishes Homestand vs. Islanders
The official game preview Colorado Avalanche vs New York Islanders.Season series: This is the first of two games between the Islanders and Avalanche. They last played Nov. 10, 2011 at Pepsi Center, with Kyle Quincey's power-play goal 2:39 into overtime helping Colorado rally from a three-goal deficit to defeat New York 4-3.
Big story: Although the Islanders sit in eighth in the Metropolitan Division, they cannot be counted out of the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A team that lost 10 straight road games earlier this season has won five straight away from home and six of eight overall.
"You start to win a few of these and obviously the confidence comes back,'' Islanders captain John Tavares said. "With our group it's a lot of the same guys who were here last year, and we were a team that did a good job late in games. That's what got us to the playoffs [last season]: finding ways to win.''
The Avalanche concludes a season-long, seven-game homestand Friday. It improved to 4-1-1 Wednesday with a wild 4-3 overtime against Ottawa. Semyon Varlamov will start in goal against the Islanders and Saturday night at the Minnesota Wild, according to head coach Patrick Roy.
"I asked him how he felt about it and he said, 'Why not?'" Roy said.
TEAM SCOPE
Islanders: New York's road resurgence continued Tuesday with a 5-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, behind third-period goals from Frans Nielsen, Calvin De Haan and Cal Clutterbuck.
''Early on, I don't know if it was nerves or a lack of poise or confidence,'' coach Jack Capuano said about the Islanders' recent success. ''But now we're just playing with an attitude, playing with an edge, playing with confidence and doing the right things to give us a chance.''
Avalanche: After seeing its early 2-0 lead to the Senators erased, Colorado rallied behind Paul Stastny's tying goal and Tyson Barrie's game-winner 33 seconds into overtime that defeated Ottawa 4-3. Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog had a career-high three assists in the win.
"I obviously think Paul and Landy are clicking well together and they played really well in that important moment in the game," Roy said Thursday. "They had a good start to the game and finished really strong and took charge."
Who's hot: Tavares has eight points in his past two games and is on a seven-game point streak for the Islanders. Thomas Vanek is on a career-high 10-game point streak (5-10-15) and has 11 goals and 28 points in 29 games since joining the Islanders … Landeskog is riding a career-long eight-game points streak (3-8-11) for Colorado. Varlamov has won his past four games and is 20-8-4 on the season. Stastny has eight points in his past three games.
Injury report: Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov (lower body), and defensemen Radek Martinek (back) and Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) are on injured reserve. … Avalanche forward Alex Tanguay (knee/hip) continues to make progress. He skated wearing a non-contact jersey Thursday. Forwards Ryan O'Reilly (bruised shoulder) and Nate Guenin (ankle) missed the game Wednesday. O'Reilly is day-to-day, and Roy suggested it's unlikely he'll play Friday. Forward PA Parenteau (sprained MCL) remains on IR.
-- by NHL.com --
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10/01/2014 - 16:30
