Vegas Golden Knights (40-14-2, second in the West Division during the regular season) vs. Colorado Avalanche (39-13-4, first in the West Division during the regular season)
Denver; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Avalanche -179, Golden Knights +151; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND: Avalanche host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche host the Vegas Golden Knights to begin the Nhl second round. The teams meet Sunday for the ninth time this season. In their last regular season matchup on May 10, Colorado won 2-1.
The Avalanche are 39-13-4 in division games. Colorado ranks 10th in the NHL with 34.6 shots per game and is averaging 3.5 goals.
The Golden Knights are 40-14-2 in division matchups. Vegas ranks fourth in the league averaging 5.8 assists per game, led by Mark Stone with 0.7.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 30 goals, adding 36 assists and recording 66 points. Nathan MacKinnon has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.
Shea Theodore leads the Golden Knights with a plus-28 in 53 games this season. Reilly Smith has four goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Vegas.
DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Avalanche: Averaging 5.0 goals, 8.0 assists, 2.8 penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game with a .936 save percentage.
Golden Knights: Averaging 2.9 goals, 4.7 assists, 2.3 penalties and 5.3 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .925 save percentage.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Alex Newhook: day to day (lower-body), Jacob MacDonald: out (lower body), Bowen Byram: out (upper body), Matt Calvert: out (undisclosed), Dennis Gilbert: out (face).
Golden Knights: Peyton Krebs: out (upper body), Brayden McNabb: day to day (health protocols), Tomas Nosek: day to day (undisclosed).
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