New Jersey Devils (27-36-9, eighth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (30-29-12, seventh in the Central Division)
Denver; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado into a matchup with New Jersey. He ranks seventh in the NHL with 89 points, scoring 36 goals and totaling 53 assists.
The Avalanche are 15-14-6 on their home ice. Colorado averages 4.1 penalties per game, the most in the NHL. Ian Cole leads the team with 33 total penalties.
The Devils are 10-24-3 on the road. New Jersey leads the Eastern Conference with 10 shorthanded goals, led by Blake Coleman with three. In their last meeting on Oct. 18, Colorado won 5-3. Mikko Rantanen recorded a team-high 4 points for the Avalanche.
TOP PERFORMERS: MacKinnon has recorded 89 total points while scoring 36 goals and adding 53 assists for the Avalanche. Rantanen has totaled six goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.
LAST 10 GAMES: Devils: 3-6-1, averaging 2.1 goals, 3.5 assists, 4.2 penalties and nine penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game with a .910 save percentage.
Avalanche: 4-5-1, averaging 2.4 goals, 4.3 assists, 3.4 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .923 save percentage.
Avalanche Injuries: Gabriel Landeskog: out (upper body), Matt Nieto: out (lower body).
Devils Injuries: Sami Vatanen: out (upper body), Miles Wood: out (ankle), Nico Hischier: day to day (upper body), Jesper Bratt: out (lower body), Mirco Mueller: out (undisclosed).
