Uh-oh, the Calgary Flames are in town.
Normally, that is not such a scary proposition for NHL teams, as the Flames sit in 11th place in the Western Conference and sport a 14-16-7 record on the road. But to the Avalanche, beating the Flames has been the equivalent of Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill.
Colorado has lost nine straight times to the Flames dating to last season, including all four meetings so far this season. If ever there was a good time to break the hex, it would be tonight at the Pepsi Center.
The Avs, clinging to the eighth spot in the West but without the luxury of any games in hand over teams — the opposite is true, in fact — just hope they can finally solve a team that hasn’t been as much a puzzle to the rest of the league.
“We have to try and play our type of game. We want to push the pace and dictate the play, whether that’s against Calgary or any other team down the stretch,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “Our game plan doesn’t change. We need to use our speed, use our energy and young legs.”
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avs against veteran Miikka Kiprusoff, who always seems to give the Avs fits.
“We have to get traffic to the net, not make things easy on him,” Avs defender Erik Johnson said. “He’s too good a goalie to let him see the puck so well.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
