Eurolanche

Avs to play last road game of 2016

The Colorado Avalanche makes a quick stop in Dallas on Thursday for its final road contest of the 2016 calendar year. It will be the fourth of five games between the Central Division rivals and the second of three that will be played in Dallas. Colorado is 1-2-0 this season against the Stars, having won the first matchup on Opening Night for the Avalanche before dropping the next two.

The Avs are 40-29-16 all-time against the Stars and 18-18-6 on the road in the series. Colorado has won four of its last six at Dallas.

Last Time Out

The Avalanche dropped a 6-3 decision to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, its first game following the NHL's three-day holiday break. Gabriel Landeskog tallied two goals and Nathan MacKinnon picked up his second straight multipoint game with a goal and an assist to lead the team.

Kari Lehtonen made 35 saves and Jason Spezza recorded a shorthanded goal and an assist to help the Stars to a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday night in Arizona. Dallas was 1-for-2 on the power play and held the Coyotes scoreless on two opportunities with the man advantage.

Last Time They Met

The Stars shut out the Avalanche 3-0 on Dec. 3 at Pepsi Center, handing Colorado its second straight loss in the season series. Tyler Seguin led the way with a goal and an assist, and Lehtonen stopped all 23 shots he faced.

What to Watch

Dallas Power Play

While the Stars power play ranks 18th in the league, converting at a 17.1 percent clip, Dallas has scored on 33.3 percent (5-for-15) of its man-advantage opportunities against Colorado this season. Tyler Seguin has paced the squad with four power-play points (two goals, two assists) against the Avalanche this season. His six points (three goals, three assists) also leads all Dallas skaters against Colorado through the first three games of the series and are the most points he's recorded against an opponent this season.

Avalanche Leaders

Gabriel Landeskog notched two goals and Nathan MacKinnon recorded a goal and an assist in the Avs' game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Both have contributed for the Avs in the three games Colorado has played against Dallas. MacKinnon's four points (two goals, two assists) are tops on the team in the series and his most points against a single opponent this campaign. Landeskog has only played in one of the three games against the Stars, potting a goal in the season opener. The Avalanche captain is tied for 11th in the league with 29 takeaways this year despite having only played in 24 games, which is at least seven contests fewer than any player ranked above him.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Nikita Zadorov

The young defenseman has seen more time on the power play in the absence of Erik Johnson and has also been on the ice against opposing teams' top lines.

"We talked to him a lot earlier in the year about honing in on his defensive details and working on those details and being more of a physical presence in front of the net and right now I would say he's put more work into his conditioning off the ice," said head coach Jared Bednar. "He's committed to it and he's working with [Avalanche strength and conditioning coach] Casey [Bond]. It's an area we saw improvement.

"He wanted to play more. We feel like he's a guy that can handle more minutes. But we wanted him to get better conditioning in order to do that. He's been committed there, and I believe that's given him some confidence on the ice. I would say over the past 10-12 games we've seen him play some of his best games of the year amidst a tough stretch."

Dallas: Left wing Jamie Benn

The Stars' captain has points in two straight games and in three of his last four outings. His 30 points rank second on the team, and of his 10 goals, six have come on the power play, which is good for a share of 11th place in the NHL in man-advantage goals.

Lineup Notes

Calvin Pickard will make his third straight start and first of the season against Dallas. Pickard is 1-1-1 in three career contests against the Stars.

The Details

Thursday's game between the Stars and the Avalanche begins at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be watched live on Altitude TV. The radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM950 and online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.

--by Danielle Bernstein for ColoradoAvalanche.com--