Buffalo Sabres (13-14-2, seventh in the Atlantic Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (14-10-2, third in the Central Division)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres visit the Colorado Avalanche after Tage Thompson's two-goal game against the Los Angeles Kings in the Sabres' 6-0 win.
Colorado has a 6-4-2 record in home games and a 14-10-2 record overall. The Avalanche have gone 13-4-1 in games they score at least three goals.
Buffalo is 13-14-2 overall and 6-6-0 on the road. The Sabres have a 1-3-2 record in games decided by one goal.
Thursday's game is the fourth time these teams match up this season. The Avalanche won 6-4 in the last matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mikko Rantanen has 19 goals and 17 assists for the Avalanche. J.T. Compher has scored three goals with seven assists over the past 10 games.
Alex Tuch has scored 14 goals with 16 assists for the Sabres. Thompson has 10 goals and eight assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 4-5-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.1 assists, 4.1 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game.
Sabres: 5-3-2, averaging 4.5 goals, 7.3 assists, 4.2 penalties and 8.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: 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).
Sabres: Vinnie Hinostroza: out (undisclosed), Eric Comrie: out (undisclosed), Ilya Lyubushkin: out (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
