The Avalanche will try to put an end to a five-game losing streak when they face Edmonton on Sunday to conclude a two-game road trip.
The GAME NOTES.
This could be a high-scoring affair. The Avalanche have allowed 25 goals in an 0-4-1 skid while the Oilers have given up 13 goals in a three-game losing streak.
The game also features the NHL’s second, third and fourth leading scorers in Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen (5-19-24), Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (10-13-23) and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (11-11-22).
Rantanen and Boston’s Patrice Bergeron have 24 points, but the Bruins forward technically is first because he has more goals (nine).
McDavid, by the way, has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in eight career games against the Avalanche.
Semyon Varlamov, who’s lost five in a row, will make his third consecutive start. He’s 4-5-2 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
Coach Jared Bednar told the Avalanche web site that forward Matt Nieto would be a game-time decision; he didn't play Friday in Winnipeg because of a lower-body injury. A.J. Greer will play if Nieto doesn't. Mark Barberio and Marko Dano will be healthy scratches.
The lineup:
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Sheldon Dries -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Colin Wilson Gabriel Bourque -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert Tyson Jost -- Vladislav Kamenev -- Matt Nieto or A.J. Greer
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie Nikita Zadorov -- Patrik Nemeth
Semyon Varlamov Philipp Grubauer