Avalanche visit the Stars after Nichushkin's 2-goal game
Colorado Avalanche (10-5, second in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (11-3-1, first in the Central Division)
Dallas; Saturday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars after Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals in the Avalanche's 8-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks.
Dallas has gone 11-3-1 overall with a 4-0-0 record against the Central Division. The Stars have gone 7-0-0 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent.
Colorado is 10-5 overall with a 2-1-0 record against the Central Division. The Avalanche are seventh in the league with 55 total goals (averaging 3.7 per game).
The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jason Robertson has scored five goals with nine assists for the Stars. Miro Heiskanen has seven assists over the last 10 games.
Ryan Johansen has scored five goals with one assist for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has six goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 7-3-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.3 assists, 3.8 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
Avalanche: 5-5-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.8 assists, 4.5 penalties and 11.4 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game.
INJURIES: Stars: Jerad Rosburg: out (undisclosed).
Avalanche: Chris Wagner: out (achilles), Artturi Lehkonen: out (undisclosed), Gabriel Landeskog: out (knee), Josh Manson: day to day (upper body), Pavel Francouz: out for season (groin), Jean-Luc Foudy: out (lower body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.