Eurolanche

Red Wings, Avs review rivalry outdoors

Season series: This 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game is the second and final between the teams. Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made 43 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 12 at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek made 19 saves. Blake Comeau, who gave the Avalanche a 2-1 lead in the third period, scored in the fourth round of the shootout for the win. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk tied the game 2-2 at 9:51 of the third period with a power-play goal. Matt Duchene had a first-period goal for the Avalanche, Jonathan Ericsson scored in the second period for the Red Wings.

Red Wings team scope: Detroit comes to Coors Field with a three-point lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Red Wings are 14-10-5 on the road, but are 0-4-2 in their past six games away from Detroit. They ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Ericsson is expected to return after missing five games with a lower-body injury. Mrazek will start; he has a 1-0-2 career record against the Avalanche. "They have a lot of dynamic players," coach Jeff Blashill said of Colorado. "It'll be a heck of a challenge against them."

Avalanche team scope: Colorado has won four of its past five games and has the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. It's the first outdoor game for the Avalanche, but coach Patrick Roy wants his team to stay focused on winning the game. "There's a lot of distraction," he said after a half-hour practice at Coors Field, "but at the same time, these are big points for us at this time of the year. It is important to remain focused." Varlamov will start; he has a 2-5-1 career record against the Red Wings but made 43 saves in the shootout victory at Detroit, a game in which Colorado was outshot 45-21. Right wing Jarome Iginla has three goals and three assists during a five-game scoring streak. With 607 NHL goals, he is one behind Dino Ciccarelli for 17th place on the all-time list. "Once the puck drops, it's game time, it's all about winning," said Iginla, who played outdoors for the Calgary Flames in the 2011 Heritage Classic. "At the same time, when you get on the bench and you get a little breather, it'll be pretty cool to look around and see the atmosphere and the crowd."

-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --