Carolina visits Colorado after Staal's 2-goal game
Carolina Hurricanes (21-11-2, third in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (22-9-3, second in the Central Division)
Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Carolina visits the Colorado Avalanche after Jordan Staal scored two goals in the Hurricanes' 6-3 win over the Jets.
The Avalanche have gone 10-3-2 in home games. Colorado leads the league averaging 3.6 goals per game, led by Nathan MacKinnon with 21.
The Hurricanes are 11-6-2 on the road. Carolina leads the league with seven shorthanded goals, led by Sebastian Aho with three.
The teams match up Thursday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 21 goals and has recorded 52 points. Mikko Rantanen has scored five goals over the last 10 games for Colorado.
Andrei Svechnikov leads the Hurricanes with 35 points, scoring 14 goals and collecting 21 assists. Aho has collected 13 points over the last 10 games for Carolina.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hurricanes: 6-3-1, averaging 2.9 goals, five assists, 4.2 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .931 save percentage.
Avalanche: 8-1-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.1 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.1 goals per game with a .937 save percentage.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Philipp Grubauer: day to day (undisclosed), Andre Burakovsky: out (upper body).
Hurricanes: Erik Haula: day to day (lower body).
