Joined: May '09
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Colorado-St.Louis Blues 02:00 2,80 3,80 2,10
DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche continue their pursuit of a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they play the St. Louis Blues at Pepsi Center on Sunday.
The Avalanche, who have lost two games in a row and four of their past five, are five points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with four games remaining, one more than the Wild.
Colorado would be eliminated with a regulation loss if the Wild defeat the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.
"We have nothing to lose at this point," Avalanche center Matt Duchene said. "I think we almost have to think like that. That's not saying we play loose and careless, it's playing confident and on our toes and just go for it at this point. We don't want to have any regrets.
"It's frustrating to be in the position we're in, but we have four games (left) and we'll make the best of it. At the very least we have to play for our fans and the logo, finish hard."
Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov will make his sixth consecutive start.
The Blues, who have a clinched a playoff berth, are in second place in the Central Division, four points behind the Dallas Stars with four games left, one more than the Stars. They are four points ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks.
St. Louis is coming off a 6-5 loss to the Boston Bruins on Friday that ended their winning streak at five games.
Jake Allen stopped four of five shots after relieving Brian Elliott to begin the third period Friday and will start Sunday. Allen has gone 7-1-0 in his past nine starts.
Joined: Jan '15
Location: Hungary
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NHL - Regular season April 5 01:00 Columbus Blue Jackets () New York Rangers ()----------2 01:00 New York Islanders () Tampa Bay Lightning ()----------1 01:30 Toronto Maple Leafs () Florida Panthers ()----------2 02:00 St. Louis Blues () Arizona Coyotes ()----------1
05/04 02:00 New York Islanders - Tampa Bay Lightning Ice Hockey - USA - NHL 2 05/04 02:00 Columbus Blue Jackets - New York Rangers Ice Hockey - USA - NHL 2 05/04 02:30 Toronto Maple Leafs - Florida Panthers Ice Hockey - USA - NHL 2 05/04 03:00 St. Louis Blues - Arizona Coyotes Ice Hockey - USA - NHL 2 05/04 05:00 Vancouver Canucks - Los Angeles Kings Ice Hockey - USA - NHL 2
Joined: Jan '15
Location: Hungary
Age: 32 (M)
Posts: 999
NHL - Regular season April 6 01:00 Boston Bruins () Carolina Hurricanes ()--------1 01:00 New Jersey Devils () Buffalo Sabres ()--------2 01:00 Washington Capitals () New York Islanders ()--------1 01:30 Montreal Canadiens () Florida Panthers ()--------2 01:30 New York Rangers () Tampa Bay Lightning ()--------1
Joined: May '09
Location: Croatia
Age: 39 (M)
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Ottawa-Pittsburgh Peng. 01:30 2,80 3,80 2,10
Penguins team scope: Rookie goalie Matt Murray should start for a third straight game after winning back-to-back starts Saturday and Sunday. Murray got his first NHL shutout by making 24 saves in a 5-0 win against the New York Islanders on Saturday and was named the NHL Third Star of the Week on Monday. Without goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is out indefinitely because of a concussion, Pittsburgh has turned to Murray, 21, instead of Jeff Zatkoff, who was Fleury's backup all season. Murray has won his past five starts and is 7-2-1 in his first 10 NHL games. On Sunday, Sullivan said he is unsure if Zatkoff will start before the end of the regular season and that he had no update on Fleury. The Penguins traveled to Ottawa without practicing Monday so it's uncertain if there will be any lineup changes. It's likely Sullivan plays the same lines and defense pairings he's used recently given the Penguins' 12-1-0 record in their past 13 games.
Senators team scope: Ottawa was eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention March 31, but the players still see a lot to play for. "No one wants to go out losing, so we're going to go out there and empty the tanks," forward Zack Smith said. "We're still playing for different reasons. Some guys still have something to prove and other guys want to keep playing well so there's still a lot to play for. It's all just about staying focused here for the last week." One of those players might be defenseman Erik Karlsson, who could use a matchup against Penguins defenseman Kris Letang to bolster his Norris Trophy consideration. Karlsson has two goals and four assists in his past six games. Center Scott Gomez returned has been in the lineup for the past two games after sitting out the previous two. Gomez has one assist in 13 games since signing a one-year contract March 2.
Joined: Jan '15
Location: Hungary
Age: 32 (M)
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NHL - Regular season April 7 01:00 Edmonton Oilers () Vancouver Canucks ()----------1 01:00 Toronto Maple Leafs () Columbus Blue Jackets ()----------1 02:00 Detroit Red Wings () Philadelphia Flyers ()----------2
Joined: May '09
Location: Croatia
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Detroit-Philadelphia Fly. 02:00 2,30 3,80 2,50
Flyers team scope: Philadelphia begins a stretch of four games in five days Wednesday to close the regular season. "We're in work mode," coach Dave Hakstol told the Flyers website Tuesday. "We're going to play hockey tomorrow. Pretty important game. But I like where we're at. We're in a good spot. We fought hard to get here and we have to fight hard to keep moving forward." The Flyers will play three sets of back-to-back games to finish the regular season, but the players understand there isn't time to be tired. "I don't think you have time to think about it," Voracek said. "You put everything on the line and hopefully it's going to work out. We had [two] days off now, Monday, Tuesday. … We've just got to make sure we're ready to go." Goalie Steve Mason is expected to make his 10th straight start.
Red Wings team scope: Forward Tomas Tatar, second on Detroit with 21 goals, injured his leg when he was hit by a shot by defenseman Kyle Quincey during practice Tuesday. "It's just a little bruise," Tatar told the Red Wings website. "It happens in practice. It was a little numb but it went away." Coach Jeff Blashill told the Detroit Free Press, "We want to be on our toes and get them on their heels. When momentum goes against us, we need to make sure we recapture it as quick as possible. Should be a great game. We're excited for it. Let's enjoy this. Let's enjoy the great opportunity we have ahead of us." Blashill would not confirm his starting goalie for Wednesday, but it's expected that it will be Jimmy Howard. Howard is 3-1-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in his past four games.
Joined: May '09
Location: Croatia
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Posts: 20594
Calgary-Vancouver Canuc. 03:00 2,10 3,80 2,80
Canucks team scope: Vancouver had a season-high three-game winning streak end with a 6-2 loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Goaltender Ryan Miller could start against the Flames on Thursday after Jacob Markstrom made 32 saves against the Oilers. The Canucks finish the regular season at home against the Oilers on Saturday. "It's our last two games of the season," Vancouver forward Bo Horvat told the Canucks website. "If you can't get up for that and you can't finish off strong when you only have two games left and give it your all, you shouldn't be here. We have to find a way to get those wins." Forwards Sven Baertschi (lower body), Chris Higgins (lower body), Linden Vey (upper body), Radim Vrbata (lower body, Brandon Sutter (broken jaw), and defensemen Luca Sbisa (upper body) and Alexander Edler (fractured tibia) are injured.
Flames team scope: Goaltender Joni Ortio will start his fourth consecutive game; he made 21 saves in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. After qualifying last season, Calgary will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite several key players having career years. "It doesn't matter when you don't have team success," Gaudreau said. "Every guy in this locker room that is having a career year would much rather replace it to be in the playoffs and be playing for the Stanley Cup." Forward Lance Bouma left the game against the Kings in the third period because of an oblique injury and will not play again this season. Forward Michael Frolik (lower body) did not skate Wednesday and has missed the past four games. Goaltender Karri Ramo (torn ACL) and defensemen Dennis Wideman (triceps) and Ladislav Smid (upper body) are injured.
