Avalanche, Flyers look to avoid deep series holes

The Colorado Avalanche and Philadelphia Flyers will look to rediscover their offensive prowess to avoid falling into deep holes in their conference semifinal series.

The Avalanche go into Game 3 against the surging Dallas Stars on Wednesday night after being outscored 10-5 over the first two games.  Colorado’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog has accounted for all of the scoring in the series.

The Flyers go into Game 2 against the New York Islanders after being shut out 4-0 in the series opener. The Flyers had a 25-14 advantage on shots over the final 40 minutes but couldn't get anything past Semyon Varlamov, who recorded his second straight shutout.

Back to backs in the bubble: NHL teams adjust to new normal

The NHL trying to speed through the playoffs means back-to-back games scheduled in every second-round series.

It's an unusual schedule compared to postseasons past and forces players and coaches to be judicious about managing energy between games.

Days off less about practice time and more about recovery and preparing for the next crucial showdown in a seven-game series.

Players don't hate the feeling of playing on back-to-back days in the regular season. So, they're trying to recapture some of that enthusiasm while playing to try to win the Stanley Cup.