Game Preview: Avalanche (27-16-3) @ Canadiens (19-22-6)

Claude Julien's troops play host to the hottest team in the league on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre - the Colorado Avalanche.

Winners of 10 straight games - the second-longest win streak in franchise history - the Avalanche are coming off a 4-2 triumph over the Maple Leafs on Monday night in Toronto.
Gabriel Bourque, Nail Yakupov, Blake Comeau and Gabriel Landeskog scored for Colorado, while Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves to earn his ninth straight victory.
It's been nearly a month since the Avalanche came out on the wrong side of the scoresheet, with their last defeat coming all the way back on December 27.
Key in their success has been the play of their top line of Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
MacKinnon currently ranks second in the league with 59 points (23 g - 36 a) in 46 games, just two points back of leader Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canadiens, meanwhile, are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins over the weekend.

Julien ran his group through a hard practice on Monday at the Bell Sports Complex in preparation for the tilt against Colorado.
Following Monday's on-ice session, the veteran bench boss confirmed that both Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber would not be returning to the lineup ahead of the upcoming All-Star break.
This marks the first of two meetings between Montreal and Colorado. They'll square off again on February 14 in Denver.
Puck drop on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on TV on TSN2 and RDS, and on the radio on TSN Radio 690 and 98,5 fm.