MTL@COL: What you need to know

DENVER - The Canadiens are in Denver to take on the Avalanche in the second-last game of their road trip on Saturday.

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The Habs are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In that contest, Montreal answered each of Vegas' two goals in the first two periods, took the lead in the third, and then lost in overtime after the Golden Knights squared things up in the final frame.

Michael Pezzetta, Tyler Toffoli, and Mike Hoffman were the goal-scorers for Montreal, while Sam Montembeault made 49 saves in the loss.

The Canadiens' sixth-round pick (160th overall), Pezzetta's heart and hard work are paying off as he's scored three goals in his last four games. Toffoli, along with Nick Suzuki and Christian Dvorak - who each picked up assists in Sin City - each have three points in their last two games.

The Avalanche, for their part, are within reach of first overall in the NHL and have games in hand over both Florida and Tampa Bay. Colorado is also four points up on Nashville for first place in the Central Division, and has four games in hand on the Preds.
The Avs are looking for their sixth win in a row, with their most recent victory coming at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. In fact, the 4-1 win helped Colorado extend its point streak to 11 games; the Avs are now 10-0-1 since the holiday break.
Mikko Rantanen netted his team-leading 21st of the season to open the scoring for Colorado on Thursday, with Kiefer Sherwood, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Devon Toews also lighting the lamp on the winning side. Darcy Kuemper made 40 saves for his 18th win of the season.
Sitting atop the Avs' points list is Nazem Kadri, who's collected 51 (15G, 36A) in 2021-22. Rantanen is second with 48, followed by Nathan MacKinnon's 42 points (9G, 33A). Cale Makar hasn't let up on his exciting third-year campaign; his 38 points are fourth among NHL defensemen, and he's tied for the lead in game-winners among rearguards with four. Makar has only been held off the scoresheet twice in his last 12 games.
This is the second and final meeting between the two teams. The Avalanche beat the Canadiens 4-1 in their first showdown at the Bell Centre on December 2.
Broadcast information
Puck drop is 7:00 p.m. ET.
You can watch the game on CITY, SNE, NHLN, ALT and TVAS, and listen to all the action on TSN 690 and 98,5 fm.