Preview
Avalanche Looks To Stop Surging Blues' Offense
NHL.com

AVALANCHE (29-41-8) at BLUES (36-33-10)

TV: ALT2 (HD), FS-MW (HD)

Last 10:
Colorado 3-7-0; St. Louis 5-4-1

Season series: This is the fourth and final regular-season game between these two clubs. If the Avs can win on Tuesday, it would be their second straight season sweep of St. Louis. Colorado will also aim to extend its winning streak at Scottrade Center to four games.

Big story: Both Colorado and St. Louis have already been eliminated from playoff contention and are looking forward to the 2011 Entry Draft as a means toward beefing up their squads for next season. The Avs will play the remainder of their schedule without second-leading scorer Paul Stastny, who is out with a leg injury. Also, defenseman John-Michael Liles will not travel with the Avs due to a concussion suffered Sunday against the Calgary Flames.

Team Scope:

Avalanche: With only four games left on their schedule and a seven-point lead over the NHL's last-place Edmonton Oilers, the Avs have almost guaranteed themselves of staying out of the League's cellar this season. The Stastny and Liles injuries were the latest in a string of ailments that have hit Colorado and were a big reason for the subpar season.

The Avs will look to bounce back from a tough 2-1 loss against the Calgary Flames on Sunday, in which veteran winger Milan Hejduk tallied the lone goal for Colorado.

Blues: St. Louis has won four of its last six games and tallied 26 goals over those victories. The Blues will try for two wins in a row after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1 on Sunday. Patrik Berglund scored twice in that game to reach a career-high 22 goals on the season.

Injury report: Besides missing Stastny (leg) for the rest of the season and the recent news about Liles' concussion, the Avs will also be without defensemen Cameron Gaunce (hand) and Adam Foote (leg). … Blues winger David Perron has been listed as out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms since the beginning of November.

Who's hot:
Hejduk has points in four of his last five games for Colorado, amassing two goals and four assists over that span. … Right wing Chris Stewart has contributed to the Blues' recent offensive explosion with points in six of his last seven games and a total of five goals and five assists over that span.

Stat pack: Now that Stastny sat out Sunday's game Colorado has missed 433 man games due to injury so far this season, the most in the organization's history and second in the NHL. That number will increase due to the recent Liles injury.

Puck drop: Former Blues players Erik Johnson and Jay McClement will return to St. Louis for the second time since being traded to Colorado in February. It has been a bit of an adjustment for McClement, after spending 5 1/2 seasons with the Blues, but he is looking forward to settling into the visitor's side of things this time around.

"When you're on the bench and watching the play go on, you're so used to watching all the guys you used to play with, and now all of a sudden you're on the other side," McClement told the Avs' official website. "But it's been a while now, so things should be easier."




SCHEDULE

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STANDINGS

WESTERN CONFERENCE
  TEAM GP W L OT GF GA PTS
1 p - CHI 48 36 7 5 155 102 77
2 y - ANA 48 30 12 6 140 118 66
3 y - VAN 48 26 15 7 127 121 59
4 x - STL 48 29 17 2 129 115 60
5 x - LAK 48 27 16 5 133 118 59
6 x - SJS 48 25 16 7 124 116 57
7 x - DET 48 24 16 8 124 115 56
8 x - MIN 48 26 19 3 122 127 55
9 CBJ 48 24 17 7 120 119 55
10 PHX 48 21 18 9 125 131 51
11 DAL 48 22 22 4 130 142 48
12 EDM 48 19 22 7 125 134 45
13 CGY 48 19 25 4 128 160 42
14 NSH 48 16 23 9 111 139 41
15 COL 48 16 25 7 116 152 39

STATS

2012-2013 REGULAR SEASON
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
P. Parenteau 48 18 25 -11 43
M. Duchene 47 17 26 -12 43
P. Stastny 40 9 15 -7 24
J. McGinn 47 11 11 -13 22
J. Mitchell 47 10 10 5 20
R. O'Reilly 29 6 14 -3 20
G. Landeskog 36 9 8 -4 17
T. Barrie 32 2 11 -11 13
C. McLeod 48 8 4 4 12
M. Hejduk 29 4 7 -7 11
 
GOALIES: W L OT Sv% GAA
J. Giguere 5 4 4 .908 2.84
S. Varlamov 11 21 3 .903 3.02
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