lundqvist home

AVALANCHE (15-34-2) at RANGERS (35-18-1)
7 p.m. ET; MSG, ALT2, NHL.TV

Avalanche team scope

The Colorado Avalanche are beginning five-game, seven-day road trip, their longest of the season. They are coming off a 4-1 loss at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Nathan MacKinnon hit the post three times against Pittsburgh, and the Avalanche had a 63-47 advantage in total shot attempts. "It's a game of millimeters," MacKinnon said. Colorado had won two in a row (4-0 against the Montreal Canadiens and 5-2 against the Winnipeg Jets) before the loss to the Penguins. The Avalanche are showing signs of life on the power play. They have scored a power-play goal in three straight games for the first time this season and are 3-for-7 in the past three games.

Rangers team scope

New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will be going for his 400th NHL win. He would be the 12th goalie in League to reach 400 wins and the second to earn his first 400 NHL victories with one franchise, joining Martin Brodeur, who got the first 688 of his NHL-record 691 wins with the New Jersey Devils. "To be able to get that number, you're talking about being able to be a real professional, a guy who has to prepare himself, has to practice hard, has to be on top of his game," coach Alain Vigneault said of Lundqvist. "He has to love to handle pressure. You gotta want pressure. You have to want to be the guy that's on the ice that's making the difference. Not all players have that. Hank is definitely one guy that wants to be there and wants to be a difference maker." The Rangers are also trying to close out a perfect homestand. They have won four games in a row, including the past three at Madison Square Garden, where until this week they had struggled. They were 14-11-1 at home before beating the Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators in a span of five days. "We said going into this week we wanted to establish a good feeling at home, confidence and just play with good energy," Lundqvist said. "It's so much more fun when you do play well at home, you win and you get the fans involved. Good energy in the building, that's what we want. We're excited to try to finish this off on a really good note."

Avalanche projected lineup
Rangers projected lineup
Status report

The Avalanche sent defenseman Eric Gelinas to San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Friday. … Girardi will miss his second straight game with an ankle injury that required stitches. He tried to skate Friday but couldn't. The Rangers didn't have a morning skate Saturday, but Vigneault said he was hoping Girardi would be able to get on the ice. He is still considered day-to-day.

Who's hot

Rantanen has five points during a three-game point streak and seven points, including five goals, in the past six games. MacKinnon and Landeskog each have four points during three-game point streaks. … Miller has nine points (two goals, seven assists) during his five-game point streak. He has two points in each of the past four games. Kreider also has a five-game point streak (four goals, one assist). Grabner has 12 goals and 15 points in the past 14 games. Zuccarello has 21 points in the past 21 games.