First place in the West Division is on the line when the Avalanche open a two-game set with the Vegas Golden Knights at Ball Arena on Thursday.
The Avalanche (20-8-3, 43 points) trail the first-place Golden Knights (22-7-1, 45 points), who have played one fewer game.
The teams split the first four games of the eight they will play against each other this season.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
The Avalanche have gone 7-1-1 in the past eight games, the Golden Knights 6-1-0 in the past seven.
“It’d be a nice feather in our cap to be able to pass them and get ahead of them, but there’s lots of hockey left to be played,… coach Jared Bednar said. “It is the biggest two-game set we’ve had so far because it’s the most recent one. We’re playing some pretty good hockey here and now Vegas is coming back to town, so it’s a big one.
“You’re fighting for home ice and playoff position and it’s just another task against a real good hockey team.…
Bowen Byram will play after missing one game with a lower-body injury, but Matt Calvert is out with what Bednar said is a nagging injury. J.T. Compher and Logan O’Connor will skate on the fourth line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.
Bednar said Pavel Francouz (lower body) and Erik Johnson (upper body) remain out for the long term.
“I don’t have any indication that one or both will be back at any time,… he said.
Max Pacioretty, who leads Vegas with 16 goals, is a game-time decision; he’s missed two games with a lower-body injury but skated Thursday morning and likely will play.
“If we want to win it all, we’re definitely going to have to go through each other,… Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Brandon Saad -- Nazem Kadri -- Andre Burakovsky Valeri Nichushkin – Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi J.T. Compher -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Logan O’Connor
DEFENSE Devon Toews -- Cale Makar Samuel Girard -- Ryan Graves Bowen Byram -- Jacob MacDonald
GOALIES Philipp Grubauer Jonas Johansson