Morning Skate Report: Avs Aim For Complete Game versus Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba--After dropping its last contest, the Colorado Avalanche will focus on playing a more complete game tonight as the team gets back to action at the Winnipeg Jets.
"We need to play 60 minutes to win the games you know and that hasn't been there lately, so we have to focus on that," said defenseman Nikita Zadorov. "Every guy has to focus on the first couple shifts of the game, you know bring your best game, and then we will go from there."
The Avalanche fell 4-1 to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday after the Preds outshot Colorado 16-10 in the opening frame and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

"We have had some tough starts. Against Nashville we had a tough first period, bounced back the last 40, but still it wasn't good enough," forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "These guys come out flying, so we are going to have to be ready for a big push early."
Tonight's matchup is the first of three games this season that Colorado will play at Bell MTS Place as the Avalanche returns to Manitoba on Jan. 8 and Feb. 14. The Avalanche plays at Winnipeg three straight times before the Jets visit Denver for the first time of the campaign on Feb. 20.
The Jets are one of two teams in the Central Division that the Avs will face five times this season instead of four. Last season, the clubs met four times with the home team winning each matchup.

"Division rival, we need those points to make the playoffs," said Zadorov. "We saw last year, we got to have a good record against our division teams, so it's a big game for us.
"It all starts from defense. We got to be more patient in our D-zone, [focus on] those little details--help each other on the breakouts and everything--and then good things will happen offensively from that."
The Avalanche and Jets, who made it to the Western Conference finals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year, each have 17 points so far this season. The clubs are tied for fourth place in the division standings, but Winnipeg has played one less game.
"We are going to have to use all of our strengths for sure," MacKinnon said of facing the Jets. "They are one of the top teams in the league, it's going to be tough."

JOST BACK IN

Tyson Jost returns to game action tonight as the center will be on a line with Vladislav Kamenev and Marko Dano after missing the last four games with a head injury.
He has skated in 11 contests this season and has one goal and one assist. He has been a full participant in each of Colorado's last three skates.
"[Jost] has had another good couple practices for us, so excited to get him back in," head coach Jared Bednar said after morning skate at Bell MTS Place. "(Matt) Nieto is banged up a little bit, so he will be out and (A.J.) Greer will be the other scratch after calling him up the other night. (Mark) Barberio [will be the scratch] on the backend."

The last time Jost played was Oct. 26 against the Ottawa Senators. Bednar said he is hoping that the forward's return to the lineup will help the team create offense while J.T. Compher (head) and Sven Andrighetto (lower body) continue to recover from their respective injuries.
"Adding Jost tonight, he is another NHL guy that has been with us and a guy that we rely on to provide us some secondary scoring," said Bednar. "Getting him back, we still got two more guys to go. Like I said, it's been a little bit slower than what we would have liked, but at least they haven't missed a ton of games here being out with those injuries."
View: Avalanche at Jets Projected Lineup

DANO FACES OLD CLUB

Forward Marko Dano was claimed off waivers by the Avalanche from Winnipeg on Oct. 15 and will play his first game against his old team tonight.
"He has been good, he hasn't got a lot of opportunity with us here," Bednar said of Dano. "Our lineup has been shuffling around a little bit. I would say that he has got another step to take for us, but certainly lucky to have him now especially with some of the guys that we got banged up up front."
Dano skated in 82 contests with the Jets over the course of three seasons and recorded 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) during that time span. He has played 136 career NHL games with the Avalanche, Jets, Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets.