The Colorado Avalanche fell flat on their face during this past road trip. They had momentum from their previous homestand, and promptly lost all three divisional road games in embarrassing fashion.
Their opponent, the San Jose Sharks, have not fared much better of late. The Sharks should be able to take advantage of the other teams in their division collapsing, with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings both firing their head coaches in the past two weeks.
Instead, the Sharks have gone 2-5-1 in their past eight games. They have failed to score three goals in five of those games, with their offensive depth completely disappearing. Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau have all scored four goals in the past 10 games; the remainder of the roster has scored a total of nine goals over that span.
For Colorado, Paul Stastny will make his return to the ice after missing the past two games with an upper body injury. His return gives Colorado some much-needed depth in the top two lines. Colorado will play Semyon Varlamov in net. The Russian goalie has had a rollercoaster season so far, but has shown flashes of brilliance lately -- especially at home.
Puck drops at 7:00 p.m. MDT.
For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Sharks blog Fear The Fin.