Avalanche at Ducks preview

AVALANCHE (9-6-4) at DUCKS (8-9-4)
8 p.m. ET, PRIME, ALT, NHL.TV

Grubauer made 26 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to the visiting Washington Capitals on Friday, his sixth start of the season. Semyon Varlamov has started the other 13.
Colorado is the second-highest scoring team in the NHL at 3.53 goals a game, while the Ducks are the second lowest (2.05)
The Ducks have limited 11 opponents to two goals or fewer this season. Anaheim has also killed 28 of the past 31 power plays (90.3 percent) to move to sixth in the NHL (82.9 percent).

Players to watch

Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in the past nine games. He scored one of his three game-winning goals last season late in the third period of a 3-1 win against visiting Anaheim on Oct. 14, 2017.
Ducks forward Pontus Aberg has scored a team-high six goals, all in the past 10 games. Aberg was claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 1.

They said it

"[Grubauer] is in the fight to get more time. That depends on his play and on [Varlamov's] play." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar
"We've been snakebit to provide offense." -- Ducks coach Randy Carlyle

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alex Kerfoot -- Colin Wilson
Sheldon Dries -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert
Sven Andrighetto -- Vladislav Kamenev -- Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Patrik Nemeth
Philipp Grubauer
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Mark Barberio, Marko Dano, Matt Nieto
Injured:J.T. Compher (head), Conor Timmins (head)

Ducks projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Ondrej Kase
Andrew Cogliano -- Ryan Kesler -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie -- Adam Henrique -- Pontus Aberg
Brian Gibbons -- Kalle Kossila -- Kiefer Sherwood
Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Montour
Jacob Larsson -- Josh Manson
Marcus Pettersson -- Andy Welinski
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched: Ben Street
Injured: Carter Rowney (upper body), Corey Perry (knee surgery), Cam Fowler (facial fractures), Patrick Eaves (back spasms)

Status report

Compher isn't with the Avalanche to start the three-game trip but could join the team in Los Angeles or Arizona. He was injured on Oct. 13 against the Calgary Flames. ... Eaves is eligible to come off injured reserve on Sunday. He played five games after his return Nov. 1 from a 12 1/2-month absence because of a virus and shoulder surgery.

Stat pack

Rantanen has an NHL-leading 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists), which is tied with Peter Forsberg (1995-96) and Joe Sakic (1996-97) for the most points through the first 19 games in team history. Colorado hasn't won in Anaheim since 3-0 on Oct. 16, 2015. ... Rakell needs one goal for 100 in his NHL career.