The Colorado Avalanche are facing a Central Division rival tonight in the Dallas Stars. It’s a four-point game, then, and one the Avs need to win.
It’s not so much that they need the points or need to prevent the Stars from getting the points at this early stage of the season. Colorado is 8-2-2 on the season and leading the division with 18 points. Dallas is middle of the pack with a 5-8-1 record and 11 points.
No, the Avs don’t need points — they need to stave off a slide. After a strong start in which they won eight of their first 10 games, including some really tough road games, they’ve lost two in a row.