Minnesota Wild (18-8-1, second in the West Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (17-8-2, third in the West Division)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Colorado heads into a matchup with Minnesota as winners of four consecutive games.
The Avalanche are 17-8-2 against West Division teams. Colorado is first in the Nhl with 5.7 assists per game, led by Nathan MacKinnon averaging 0.7.
The Wild are 18-8-1 against the rest of their division. Minnesota averages 9.2 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the Nhl. Kevin Fiala leads the team serving 33 total minutes.
In their last meeting on Feb. 24, Minnesota won 6-2. Nico Sturm scored a team-high two goals for the Wild in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 14 goals, adding 16 assists and totaling 30 points. Nazem Kadri has three goals and nine assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild with 15 total assists and has 25 points. Mats Zuccarello has two goals and seven assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-2-1, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.8 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game with an .899 save percentage.
Wild: 7-2-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.4 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while allowing 2.1 goals per game with a .925 save percentage.
INJURIES: Avalanche: J.T. Compher: day to day (upper body), Conor Timmins: day to day (upper body), Dennis Gilbert: out (face).
Wild: Marcus Foligno: day to day (leg).
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