Rantanen, who leads the NHL in points (21) and assists (16) in 12 games this season, was named the NHL First Star for October. He has points in 11 of 12 games this season, and five points (one goal, four assists) in his past two games. Colorado, which trails the Nashville Predators by two points for first in the Western Conference, is 4-2-0 in its past six games. Goalie Mike Smith likely will start for Calgary, which has won two straight after losing three in a row (0-2-1).
Players to watch
Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov is 4-2-2 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .950 save percentage in eight starts, and has held opponents to two goals or fewer in seven starts. Calgary forward Elias Lindholm has four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak and leads the Flames with eight goals.
They said it
"The whole team is playing well. Every line is playing well right now. Our chemistry, our line, is building up from last year. We played all of last year together. That helps. It's a privilege to play with those guys. We just have to keep going."-- Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen "You've just got to be aware, know when certain players are on the ice in situational play, but at the same time I think we've done a good job focusing internally how we're playing. We have to be aware of those players, but at the same time but really the focal point is how we're playing." -- Flames forward Elias Lindholm
Colorado held an optional morning skate. … Jost is not traveling during the Avalanche's two-game road trip to Western Canada.
Stat pack
Barrie has four assists in the past two games. …Gaudreau leads the Flames with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) and has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak. … Monahan has six points (one goal, five assists) during a four-game point streak. ... Rantanen's line with MacKinnon (nine goals, nine assists) and Landeskog (10 goals, six assists), have 55 points (24 goals, 31 assists) this season.
