As if Colorado doesn't have enough trouble against Minnesota, Matt Duchene (concussion) and Gabriel Landeskog (lower body injury) are out again Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
Duchene took part in the morning skate again, but will miss his fourth consecutive game. Landeskog remains in Colorado to take treatment and will miss his second game.
Duchene told the Denver Post he's hopeful of playing Monday in Columbus.
“I would say it’s definitely a possibility,… he said. “I’m not going to say for sure, because I thought I was going to be good for Dallas and then two hours later, I’m sitting on the plane and I’m not feeling good. It’s an up-to-the-minute thing. It’ll probably be a game time decision even then.…
Calvin Pickard gets the start. Why not? He made 32 saves Nov. 5 in the Avalanche's 1-0 win against the Wild and is 3-1-0 this season with a 2.08 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.
The Avalanche (7-9-0) will need to play at least as well as they did in the second and third periods of their 3-2 loss in Dallas on Thursday, and have a good first period for a change; they've scored the first goal five times in 16 games.
Staying out of the penalty box is a must. The Wild are 0-for-10 on power plays in their past four games and 1-for-16 in six games, but the Avalanche have allowed six power-play goals in the past six games; Nikita Zadorov took three of Colorado's seven penalties Thursday, and Cody McLeod took a needless slashing penalty in the final minute of the first period.
Zadorov will be scratched for the first time this season.
The Wild (9-6-1) are 5-2-0 at home and coming off a 1-0 win against Boston in which goalie Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves. Dubnyk is 13-7-1 against the Avalanche with three shutouts, a 2.02 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
Dubnyk has allowed nine goals in his past nine starts, stopping 270 of 279 shots with a 1.01 goals-against average. He leads the NHL with a 1.48 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.
Zach Parise didn't play because of an injury when the teams met earlier this month, and he might not play Saturday because of an apparent illness. He has 13-17-30 in 26 games against Colorado. Eric Staal has turned out to be a terrific pickup for the Wild with 5-8-13 in 16 games.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS A.J. Greer -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Andreas Martinsen Rene Bourque -- Carl Soderberg -- Mikko Rantanen Blake Comeau -- John Mitchell -- Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod -- Mikhail Grigorenko -- Joe Colborne
DEFENSE Fedor Tyutin -- Erik Johnson Patrick Wiercioch -- Tyson Barrie Francois Beauchemin -- Eric Gelinas
GOALIES Calvin Pickard Semyon Varlamov