Overview
- Colorado (36-9-9) faces San Jose (27-23-4) at Ball Arena at 7:12 p.m. MT in the teams’ last game before players depart for Milan.
- Confirmed starters are Mackenzie Blackwood for the Avalanche and Yaroslav Askarov for the Sharks, with Blackwood having shut out San Jose in Denver in November.
- Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog will sit out but are expected to join Czechia and Sweden, respectively, for the Olympics.
- Despite leading the league much of the season, Colorado is 3-5-2 in its last 10 and owns one of the NHL’s weakest recent power-play rates.
- San Jose activated January acquisition Kiefer Sherwood from injured reserve for his debut on a line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, as the Sharks chase a wild-card spot.