New York Rangers (48-20-4, first in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (46-21-5, second in the Central Division)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The New York Rangers visit the Colorado Avalanche after Alexis Lafreniere scored two goals in the Rangers' 6-5 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Colorado has a 46-21-5 record overall and a 28-7-0 record in home games. The Avalanche have given up 213 goals while scoring 268 for a +55 scoring differential.
New York has a 48-20-4 record overall and a 22-11-4 record in road games. The Rangers are 27-8-1 in games their opponents serve more penalty minutes.
The teams meet Thursday for the second time this season. The Rangers won 2-1 in overtime in the previous matchup. Lafreniere led the Rangers with two goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nathan MacKinnon has 45 goals and 78 assists for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has scored eight goals with 11 assists over the past 10 games.
Vincent Trocheck has scored 25 goals with 47 assists for the Rangers. Artemi Panarin has eight goals and eight assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 9-1-0, averaging 4.3 goals, 7.9 assists, three penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game.
Rangers: 8-2-0, averaging 3.9 goals, 6.2 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog: out for season (knee), Pavel Francouz: out for season (groin), Logan O'Connor: out for season (hip).
Rangers: Ryan Lindgren: out (lower body), Jacob Trouba: out (lower-body), Blake Wheeler: out for season (lower-body), Filip Chytil: out for season (upper-body), Erik Gustafsson: day to day (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
