In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche may have been a game

CALGARY Youth Jamie McGinn Jersey , Alberta — In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche may have been a game Calgary season-ticket holders took a pass on — but no longer.Possibly the NHL’s most explosive line pays a visit to Alberta starting with a tilt in Calgary on Thursday.Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon lead a resurgent Avalanche.Article continues below ...Rantanen had the league’s scoring lead entering Wednesday’s game with 12 goals and 16 assists. MacKinnon was fifth (9g, 9a) and Landeskog ninth (10g, 6a).The Avalanche are tied for second in the Western Conference with a 7-3-2 record.“I think we’re one of the top teams in the league in the standings,” Rantanen told nhl.com. “I know its early, but still, other teams have to look for us and be ready for us. I think we’re playing good hockey now. It’s still early and there are a lot of games left, so we just have to be consistent.”Calgary is returning home from a very successful two-game trip to Toronto and Buffalo, where they scored late in regulation each night then won in overtime.Matthew Tkachuk tipped in the tying goal with 54 seconds remaining in the third period and Johnny Gaudreau won it 2:40 in overtime.The Flames are 7-5-1 and were seventh in the Western Conference as of Wednesday morning.While the Flames are coming off back-to-back games on the road, the Avalanche are coming off a nice little rest period. They last played on Saturday Womens Jared McCann Jersey , losing 3-2 in Minnesota.“Rest is the big, main thing coming out of the seven (games) in 12 (days),” head coach Jared. Bednar told nhl.com. “They had a couple days of rest. We had a good day of practice (Tuesday). We’ll have short one (Wednesday) before we fly off. Then we go back-to-back (games), and they’ll get some rest again and then put them to work and get ready for the next stretch.”The Avalanche will fly to Vancouver after Thursday’s game to face the Canucks on Friday.While the Avalanche are rested, the Flames have been busy. They finish up a stretch of six games in nine days on Saturday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.They have recovered with the two road wins after losing 9-1 to Pittsburgh and 4-3 in OT to Washington at home.“We’re getting where we want to be,” captain Mark Giordano told reporters in Buffalo. “Tonight was solid again, I didn’t think we gave up much. We’re getting to where we know what to expect out of each other defensively and we’re not cheating on offence and that’s resulting in wins.”Gaudreau is again the player to watch for Calgary. He’s off to a fast start with six goals and 10 assists in 13 games. Calgary’s top goal scorer so far is Elias Lindholm, who was acquired in the offseason from Carolina.“He’s one of those players that generates quality chances all the time,” Flames head coach Bill Peters told Postmedia News, whom he coached in Carolina. “Right now, they’re going in for him. Right now Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey , he’s playing on a real good line with a good play-making winger and a center in Johnny and (Sean Monahan).“That’s the thing with Johnny — he makes a lot of plays. He buys guys time and Lindy’s done a good job of getting to the right spot at the right time.” WASHINGTON (AP) The good news for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals is they still lead their Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The bad news for the Capitals, counterintuitive as it may be: They host Game 4.So far, Washington is 7-1 in away games this postseason, closing out each of its first two series on the road.Heading into Thursday night, the Capitals are only 3-4 in their arena. The latest setback was a 4-2 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday, after victories at Tampa Bay by a combined score of 10-4 in the final’s opening two games.Ovechkin simply shrugged when asked about that discrepancy.”We don’t think about it,” the three-time NHL MVP said. ”We just play our game.”Others were less dismissive.”We can take a few things that we’ve done on the road and put it into our home game,” goalie Braden Holtby said. ”Just a little simpler. Simpler play. Just a kind of, like, more gritty style.”Asked what his club could do to fare better at home, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said: ”Just play the way we do on the road. We’re invested there. We’re playing with real good focus. I didn’t think we were as focused as we have been normally on the road. So just pretend you’re on the road. All the buildings are pretty well the same these days.”Trotz notices a difference in his players’ attitude on home ice http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-keith-yandle-jersey , saying: ”It’s `us against the world’ when were on the road.”There is a league-wide trend here: Road teams are 38-34 in these playoffs.So much for any supposed home-ice advantage, right?”For whatever reason, at this time of the year there are more distractions than in the regular season, for sure. A lot of people have friends and family coming down and ticket requests. Sometimes there’s that little added pressure of playing at home and wanting to obviously do good things in front of your fans,” Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. ”There’s something to be said, too, (for) winning games on the road, when you can just kind of hear a pin drop in the crowd, sometimes, which is always a good thing.”Holtby agreed.”It’s easier to play on the road. It’s always that way on the road. Any team would say that,” he said. ”Because you’re not focused on the excitement of your fans and all that. They bring you energy in good ways Womens Authentic Nick Bjugstad Jersey , but at the same time, you need to stay realistic and play your game.”During the regular season, Washington was a strong home team, playing in front of loud, red-wearing sellout crowds in every game.Only five teams in the 31-club NHL had more victories at home than Washington’s 28 – and that total represents seven more wins than the Capitals managed on the road.So what is going on in the playoffs?”I don’t really have an explanation for it, to be honest with you,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. ”I know when we go on the road, I think maybe we feel a bit more relaxed, and when we do make mistakes, maybe we don’t let the groaning affect us or whatnot. I mean, that being said Roberto Luongo Jersey , I think we should be probably mentally stronger to not let that affect us. Just got to try to find a way to win the next one at home, for sure.”NOTES: Injured Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, who has missed the last four games with an injured right hand, took part in the team’s optional skate Wednesday. But Trotz wouldn’t give any hint as to when Backstrom might return. ”When Nicky’s ready to go, he’s ready to go,” Trotz said. ”You miss him in every way shape or form.” … Washington re-signed D Aaron Ness to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 if he’s in the NHL, $425,000 in the minors. Ness had one assist in eight games for the Capitals this season.—AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.—