Erik Johnson

Sometimes, you need your goalie to steal a win for you, and that's what the Colorado Avalanche got out of Semyon Varlamov tonight at the United Center versus the Blackhawks.

Varlamov made 46 of 48 saves (.958 sv%) on a night where the Avs started a player short, and lost a defenseman early in the third. Colorado has a handful of players on IR, including PA Parenteau and Alex Tanguay, but despite that, they've been 5-1-1 in the new year. Their goalie has been a big part of that.

In that same stretch, the Blackhawks have gone just 2-1-4; so their silver lining is that they continue to eke out points in losses and remain in the top three of the Central division....

It was a crucial encounter at the American Airlines Center in Texas as the Stars welcomed the Colorado Avalanche. Just a point separated the 2 sides going into the game, both sat just outside the very tight playoff picture.

The Stars landed in Dallas on the morning of the Avs game after travelling out West to face the Ducks and the Kings, where they took 1 win away. Luckily for the Stars, Colorado’s star centre Matt Duchene, who caused a lot of problems earlier in the season, was out of the line-up.

You could tell that the Stars had landed in Dallas several hours prior to face-off as they showed poor puck control and retention, and struggled to match up to the Avs' p...