Colorado Continues Homestand Against Winnipeg

The Colorado Avalanche hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night in its second game of a five-contest homestand.
Colorado is 17-14-1-5 against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise since it was formed in 1999-2000. The Avs have a winning record of 10-6-0-3 at home against the club and has snagged a win in the last two matchups at Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche is coming off its second home loss of the season on Saturday, dropping its record to 7-2-1 in its own building. The Jets have 7-4-2 record as the visiting team this year and picked up their 15th win of the campaign on Monday.

Last Time Out

Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche fell 3-2 to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Colorado gave up two goals in the last minute of the second period to go down 3-1. The Avs could only find the back of the net once in the final 20 minutes as the comeback fell short. Mikko Rantanen got the Avalanche on the scoreboard in the second frame, and Nikita Zadorov tallied his second marker of the season in the third stanza.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets scored seven unanswered goals en route to a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Monday. After being down 2-0 early in the first, the game was knotted at 2-2 by the first intermission and the Wild was held scoreless for the final 40 minutes. Seven different skaters in Jets sweaters found the back of the net in the victory.

Last Time They Met

The Jets scored three goals in the first 10:02 of the contest and added three more in the final 40 minutes to pick up a 6-1 victory at home on March 4. Gabriel Landeskog recorded the Avalanche's only marker, tallying with 16 seconds left in regulation. Winnipeg's Nikolaj Ehlers and Blake Wheeler both posted three-point efforts with a goal and two assists each.

What to Watch

Line Shuffle
J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost and Alexander Kerfoot were put together on a line this week at practice, and it is possible this all-rookie group will see the ice with one another on Wednesday night.
With Gabriel Landeskog out of the lineup due to suspension, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has moved Sven Andrighetto back onto the top line with MacKinnon and Rantanen. Andrighetto played with MacKinnon and Rantanen at the end of last season and at the start of the 2017-18 season.
"I think it's a real good opportunity for him," Avs head coach Jared Bednar said of Andrighetto. "He is going to jump into the top line for tomorrow night, and he is getting back on the power play. We should have a hungry player there, and we got to get the job done. We will have to get the job done without Landy."
Take Your Shoes Off, Stay A While
Wednesday night will be the second match of a five-game homestand for the Avalanche. Colorado won't have to set foot into a visiting locker room until Dec. 7. It's no secret that the Avalanche plays better in the Mile High City with already seven wins at home this year, and this home stretch is an opportunity for the squad to take advantage of the familiar territory. This is Colorado's second longest homestand of the season.

Player to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Samuel Girard
Rookie Samuel Girard has been paired with veteran defenseman Erik Johnson and has logged more than 20 minutes in seven of his last eight outings. The rookie blueliner has recorded one goal and four assists in 13 NHL games this campaign for the Avalanche and Nashville Predators.
Winnipeg: Center Mark Scheifele
Mark Scheifele has registered 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 24 games this season. The center ended a three-game point drought with a goal and an assist against the Minnesota Wild on Monday.

Lineup Notes

Semyon Varlamov will make his 13th start for the Colorado Avalanche after coming off a four-game break due to an illness. Tyson Jost will be in the lineup again after recovering from a lower-body injury and being recalled from the San Antonio Rampage on Sunday night. Gabriel Landeskog will not hit the ice with the Avs as he is serving a suspension for a cross-checking incident that occurred on Nov. 25 against the Calgary Flames. Anton Lindholm was activated from injured reserve for the first time since he broke his jaw during the Avs' contest at the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov 4. Rear guard Duncan Siemens was recalled from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League on Tuesday afternoon.

The Details

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. MT at Pepsi Center. The game will be televised on Altitude and the radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.