Colorado hosts Minnesota after Bellemare's 2-goal game
Minnesota Wild (18-15-5, sixth in the Central Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (23-11-3, second in the Central Division)
Denver; Friday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Colorado hosts the Minnesota Wild after Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored two goals in the Avalanche's 7-3 win against the Golden Knights.
The Avalanche have gone 6-6-0 against division opponents. Colorado leads the NHL averaging 3.6 goals per game, led by Nathan MacKinnon with 21.
The Wild are 2-8-1 against opponents from the Central Division. Minnesota is fourth in the league shooting 10.7% and averaging 3.1 goals on 28.7 shots per game.
In their last matchup on Nov. 21, Minnesota won 3-2. Ryan Suter recorded a team-high 2 points for the Wild.
TOP PERFORMERS: MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 55 points, scoring 21 goals and collecting 34 assists. Mikko Rantanen has recorded five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.
Eric Staal has collected 31 total points while scoring 14 goals and totaling 17 assists for the Wild. Mats Zuccarello has totaled 9 points over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 5-4-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.2 assists, 3.6 penalties and 8.4 penalty minutes while allowing 3.5 goals per game with a .885 save percentage.
Avalanche: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.3 assists, 3.1 penalties and seven penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .928 save percentage.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Philipp Grubauer: day to day (undisclosed), Andre Burakovsky: out (upper body).
Wild: Jason Zucker: out (lower body).
