Avalanche at Senators preview

AVALANCHE (29-16-6) at SENATORS (18-24-11)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, ALT, NHL.TV

The Avalanche, one point behind the Dallas Stars with two games in hand, are 4-1-0 in their past five games after a four-game winless streak (0-2-2). They trail the first-place St. Louis Blues by eight points.
Senators forward Nicholas Paul will play for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Jan. 7. He has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 38 games.
Ottawa is on a three-game winless streak (0-1-2) and 2-6-7 in its past 15 games.

Players to watch

Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in his past 12 games.
Senators forward Drake Batherson has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"We shot the puck, we had some real good shots, some good decisions, still made some plays off the rush, so it was good to capitalize and see our guys gain a little confidence." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar after a 6-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday
"It's going to be a tough test, for sure. I think he's close to the best players in the League right now. He's having a great year and he did it last year. I mean, he's a guy that's so powerful, such a great skater, can do anything with the puck, but it's going to be a big challenge for us, as a team. We're going to have to bring our 'A' game, for sure, to give ourselves a good chance."-- Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot on Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin -- Nazem Kadri -- Andre Burakovsky
Matt Calvert -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto -- Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi
Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov -- Ian Cole
Philipp Grubauer
Pavel Francouz
Scratched:Vladislav Kamenev, Calle Rosen
Injured:Colin Wilson (lower body)

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Nick Paul -- Chris Tierney -- Anthony Duclair
Tyler Ennis -- Artem Anisimov -- Drake Batherson
Filip Chlapik -- Colin White -- Scott Sabourin
Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey
Mark Borowiecki -- Dylan DeMelo
Mike Reilly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Marcus Hogberg
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Mikkel Boedker, Cody Goloubef
Injured:Anders Nilsson (concussion), Vladislav Namestnikov (lower body)

Status report

The Avalanche sent defenseman Mark Barberio to Colorado of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint and recalled Rosen, also a defenseman. … Namestnikov, a forward, is day to day after blocking a shot against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. He was too sore to skate Thursday but hopes to play at the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, Senators coach D.J. Smith said.

Stat pack

Burakovsky has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during a five-game point streak. … The Senators are 41.2 percent on the power play since the All-Star break, fourth in the NHL.