The Avs look to get back in the win column after suffering a 5-4 shootout loss to Los Angeles Thursday night. All four Avalanche goals came in the second period. J.T. Compher netted his sixth goal of the season. Cale Makar found the back of the net and dished out two assists. Andrew Cogliano and Evan Rodrigues also scored.
The Maple Leafs had their three-game winning streak snapped after falling to Arizona, 6-3 on Thursday. Pontus Holmberg, Calle Jarnkrok and Alexander Kerfoot scored for Toronto, while Conor Timmins had two assists.
Colorado owns a 44-32-10 all-time mark versus Toronto, with a 21-14-5 record at home. Since the franchise moved to Denver, the Avs hold a 21-16-3 tally versus the Maple Leafs.
Saturday's game is the first of two outings against the Maple Leafs this season, with the final matchup in Toronto on Mar. 15.
Toronto holds the third-best points percentage in the league at .694 (22-8-6).
Mitch Marner leads Toronto in scoring with 41 points (13G, 28A). William Nylander (21G, 19A) and Auston Matthews (17G, 23A) follow with 40 points each.
Netminder Ilya Samsonov is one of the leagues best between the pipes this season, ranking third in goals-against average (2.20) and t-seventh in save percentage (.920).
Gabriel Landeskog Lower body
Darren Helm Lower body
Bowen ByramLower body
Josh MansonLower body
Pavel Francouz Unknown
Valeri Nichushkin Lower body
Shane BowersUpper body
\At Friday's practice, both MacKinnon and Kaut joined the team for practice as they donned red, non-contact jerseys, meanwhile Helm was a full participant in a gray practice jersey.
Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar noted that MacKinnon is getting, "very close" to returning to the lineup and could see game action as early as Saturday night against the Maple Leafs.*
Erik Johnson has registered 10 points (2G, 8A) in 15 games versus the Maple Leafs.
Alexandar Georgiev has started five games versus Toronto in his career and holds a .929 save percentage.
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In the second period of Thursday's game versus Los Angeles, the Avs matched their season high of four goals in a period, previously set at Buffalo (Dec. 1) and Nashville (Nov. 10).
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Cale Makar notched a goal and two assists versus the Kings to record his 15th career three-point outing, putting him two shy of tying Tyson Barrie (17 GP) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.
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Mikko Rantanen extended his point streak to four games after tallying two assists against the Kings. Rantanen has registered seven points (3G, 4A) the span.
