Final
Desperate Avs head to Edmonton
Mar 25, 2015 - 2:41 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - With their playoff hopes quickly fading away, the Colorado Avalanche hope to avoid a third straight loss when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.Even after winning six of seven games to begin March, the Avalanche were looking at a steep climb to get back to the postseason. After losing two straight tilts, it's becoming increasingly likely the defending Central Division champions will miss out on the playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons.
With only 10 games left on its schedule, Colorado is 10 points behind Winnipeg for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Avalanche are 1-1-1 on a five-game road trip after dropping consecutive tests in Anaheim and Calgary. Colorado picked up a point from Friday's overtime loss to the Ducks, but fell 3-2 in regulation Monday against the Flames.
Gabriel Landeskog supplied a goal and an assist in the loss and Alex Tanguay also lit the lamp. Ryan O'Reilly also notched two assists for Colorado, while Semyon Varlamov allowed all three goals on 26 shots.
"We had a lot of good chances, but just couldn't score any goals to tie the game," Avs coach Patrick Roy said. "They defend well. They block a lot of shots. They did a really good job winning the faceoff."
Avs forward Jarome Iginla faced his former team and played in his 1,382nd game, tying Trevor Linden for 39th on the NHL's all-time list.
Colorado fell to 14-13-9 as the guest. The Avs will complete this swing tomorrow in Vancouver.
Edmonton had a four-game point streak (2-0-2) halted its last time out, losing 4-1 against visiting Winnipeg on Monday. The defeat dropped the Oilers to 2-1-1 on a six-game homestand that is set to end Friday versus Dallas.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the only goal for the Oilers in the recent loss, while Ben Scrivens only stopped 20-of-24 shots. Nugent-Hopkins has tallied four goals over the last three games and the 21-year-old also has 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) during a six-game point streak.
Ondrej Pavelec made 33 saves for the Jets and helped keep Edmonton scoreless on four chances with the man advantage. Winnipeg, meanwhile, converted on 2- of-4 power-play opportunities.
"It really came down to special teams tonight," Oilers coach Todd Nelson said. "We had some good looks. You have to give Pavelec credit, he made some good saves tonight."
Edmonton is just 12-21-3 as the host this season and will begin a three-game road trip following its stop in Dallas.
The Avs have won three straight in this series. They had lost three in a row in Edmonton before notching a 4-1 win at Rexall Place on April 8 of last season.
- COLORADO: 3
EDMONTON: 4
Final
Mar 25 10:40 PM - COLORADO: 3
EDMONTON: 4
End of Regulation
Mar 25 10:40 PM - COLORADO: 2
EDMONTON: 3
End of 2nd
Mar 25 9:43 PM - COLORADO: 0
EDMONTON: 3
End of 1st
Mar 25 8:47 PM - COLORADO: 0
EDMONTON: 0
1st Period - 20:00
Mar 25 8:12 PM
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