Colorado Avalanche (17-8-2, second in the Central Division) vs. Montreal Canadiens (12-10-6, fourth in the Atlantic Division)
Montreal; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado into a matchup against Montreal. He ranks third in the league with 44 points, scoring 18 goals and recording 26 assists.
The Canadiens are 7-6-3 at home. Montreal has scored 91 goals and is eighth in the NHL averaging 3.2 per game. Brendan Gallagher leads the team with 11.
The Avalanche are 9-5-1 on the road. Colorado has scored 100 goals and is the NHL leader averaging 3.7 goals per game. MacKinnon leads the team with 18.
The teams meet Thursday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tomas Tatar leads the Canadiens with 15 assists and has recorded 24 points this season. Shea Weber has scored four goals over the last 10 games for Montreal.
MacKinnon has recorded 44 total points while scoring 18 goals and totaling 26 assists for the Avalanche. Joonas Donskoi has collected 12 points over the last 10 games for Colorado.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.5 assists, 3.9 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with a .917 save percentage.
Canadiens: 2-5-3, averaging 2.9 goals, five assists, three penalties and 6.4 penalty minutes while giving up 4.1 goals per game with a .863 save percentage.
Canadiens Injuries: Victor Mete: out (lower body).
Avalanche Injuries: Andre Burakovsky: out (upper body), Erik Johnson: out (upper body).
