Preview: Avalanche at Bruins

AVALANCHE (9-14-1) at BRUINS (15-10-2)
7 p.m. ET; NESN, ALT, NHL.TV

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Avalanche team scope

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Fedor Tyutin will return to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury, but forward Gabriel Landeskog (lower body) will miss his 10th straight game. "I think he's progressing every day, and it's just a matter of getting on the ice enough and keep testing that to make sure he's 100 percent when he comes back," coach Jared Bednar said about Landeskog. Several Avalanche players have been ill but some participated in an optional practice Thursday and Bednar said he expects everyone to play. The Avalanche have lost their past six games (0-5-1) but forward Matt Duchene saw reasons for optimism during a 4-3 loss at the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. "We were in that game, last game," Duchene said. "We were the better team for a good chunk of it, it was a pretty even game. It's easy to get negative right now but I think the biggest thing is you've got to stay positive as a group and keep charging forward."

Bruins team scope

The Boston Bruins are 4-0-2 in their past six games after losing 4-3 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. The Bruins, who did not have a morning skate, were behind 3-0 in the second period against the Capitals. "We never quit, we never stopped playing," coach Claude Julien told the Boston Herald. "If anything, I thought we got better as the game went on." The Bruins have scored two or fewer goals in 18 of their 27 games (7-10-1), but have scored seven goals in their past two games. Forward David Pastrnak has led the way with three goals in his past two games and he's second in the NHL with 16.

Avalanche projected lineup

Rene Bourque -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Blake Comeau
Mikko Rantanen -- John Mitchell -- Matt Duchene
Mikhail Grigorenko -- Carl Soderberg -- Jarome Iginla
Cody McLeod -- Joe Colborne -- Andreas Martinsen
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie
Eric Gelinas -- Patrick Wiercioch
Francois Beauchemin -- Fedor Tyutin
Calvin Pickard
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched:Cody Goloubef
Injured:Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Erik Johnson (broken fibula)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Tim Schaller -- David Krejci -- David Backes
Ryan Spooner -- Riley Nash -- Austin Czarnik
Anton Blidh -- Dominic Moore -- Jimmy Hayes
Zdeno Chara -- Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug -- Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller -- Colin Miller
Anton Khudobin
Tuukka Rask
Scratched: Joe Morrow
Injured:Matt Beleskey (knee), John-Michael Liles (concussion)

Status report

Beauchemin injured his hand blocking a shot Tuesday but will play. ... Pickard will make his eighth start. ... Khudobin is expected to make his fifth start because the Bruins are playing the second half of a back-to-back.

Who's hot

Duchene scored twice Tuesday and leads the Avalanche with nine goals, all scored on the road. ... Pastrnak has three goals and two assists during a four-game point streak.