New York Rangers (12-10-5, fifth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (13-9-1, fourth in the Central Division)
Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche play the New York Rangers after losing three straight games.
Colorado has gone 5-4-1 in home games and 13-9-1 overall. The Avalanche have conceded 66 goals while scoring 76 for a +10 scoring differential.
New York is 12-10-5 overall and 8-4-1 in road games. The Rangers have gone 3-4-4 in one-goal games.
The matchup Friday is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The Avalanche won 3-2 in a shootout in the last matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Valeri Nichushkin has scored seven goals with five assists for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has four goals and three assists over the last 10 games.
Mika Zibanejad has 13 goals and 16 assists for the Rangers. Artemi Panarin has one goal and 10 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 5-5-0, averaging 2.6 goals, 4.3 assists, 4.4 penalties and 10 penalty minutes while giving up 3.1 goals per game.
Rangers: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.8 assists, 3.9 penalties and 9.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Artturi Lehkonen: day to day (upper body), Valeri Nichushkin: out (ankle), Evan Rodrigues: out (lower body), Kurtis MacDermid: out (lower-body), Darren Helm: out (undisclosed), Nathan MacKinnon: out (upper-body), Josh Manson: out (lower-body), Gabriel Landeskog: out (knee), Bowen Byram: out (undisclosed), Shane Bowers: out (upper-body).
Rangers: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
