Colorado @ Chicago preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 29, 2018 ) Chicago 3, Colorado 2

The Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks have taken different paths toward the wild scramble for the final two postseason spots in the Western Conference. A lengthy slump after a fast start appeared to derail Colorado while the Blackhawks are digging their way out of a deep hole and look to continue their surge when they host the Avalanche on Friday night.

Chicago has climbed out of the basement in the Central Division by winning 10 of 12 games and is part of the seven-team scrum in the tightly bunched West. "We still need to work on our game," Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Our game isn't where it needs to be for us to compete in the playoffs, and we're going to have to play better to get the points we need coming down the stretch." The Avalanche appeared to slide out of contention following an eight-game slide, but they responded by winning three of four, including back-to-back victories for the first time since November. "Right where we want to be -- destiny's in our hands," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We've got a lot of season yet to go. This is going to go right down to the bitter end."

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TVAS, Sportsnet1, Sportsnet East/Ontario/Pacific, Altitude2 (Colorado), NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (25-24-11): Colorado broke up its high-powered top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog to provide balance to the offense and the team responded by scoring 10 goals in wins over Vegas and Winnipeg. Carl Soderberg, who anchors the No. 2 line with Matt Nieto and Rantanen, scored one goal and set up two others while registering a career-best plus-4 versus Winnipeg. “It’s fun to play with those two," Rantanen said. "Sods is a great two-way centerman who can still make plays and sees the ice well. He has great foot speed and can pass, too. It’s fun to play with those two.”

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS (26-26-9): Patrick Kane has been the driving force for Chicago, scoring his second goal in overtime to cap Wednesday's 5-4 victory over Detroit and extending his point streak to 19 games. Kane, who has 16 goals and 26 assists during his torrid stretch, also put together a 26-game point streak in 2015-16 and now owns the two longest by an American-born player. "He's been great for us. I don't know where we'd be without him," Alex DeBrincat said. "It's fun to watch him out there and he's creating a play every time he touches the puck. Definitely cool to be on his team and fun to watch him play."

OVERTIME

1. DeBrincat has eight goals and 18 points in 10 games this month.

2. Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov has yielded four goals in his last four starts and is 13-6-3 lifetime versus Chicago.

3. Blackhawks F Brandon Saad has three goals and five points in the last four games.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 4, Avalanche 3