AVALANCHE (20-17-8) at MAPLE LEAFS (28-14-2) 7 p.m. ET; TSN4, ALT, ESPN+, NHL.TV
The goalie missed the past eight games because of a groin injury and flu, last playing on December 22 making 25 saves in a 5-3 win against the New York Rangers. The Maple Leafs are 2-4-0 in their past six games after a five-game winning streak. Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start for the Avalanche, who have lost three in a row and are 1-7-2 in their past 10 games. They have allowed at least five goals in three of their past five games.
Players to watch
Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon had an eight-game point streak end against the Canadiens. He had 11 points (five goals, six assists) during the streak. Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games.
They said it
"It felt like at the start (of the losing stretch) the effort wasn't really there. It was almost like we thought because we were in a (Stanley Cup) playoff spot at Christmas, our effort all of a sudden went down. Our effort has been a lot better the past five or six games but it just seems like it's one hole or another we're trying to fill now, whether it's power play one night or penalty killing the other, we haven't seemed to be able to put a game together." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog "I'm happy to be back and looking forward to be back playing again. I think anyone will say that it [stinks] to look from the outside in and see the guys playing without you. You want to be part of the team and part of the battle for every game." -- Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen
Sparks will return to back up Andersen after missing five games with a concussion. ... Zadorov will return after missing the past 10 games with a lower-body injury.
Stat pack
Rantanen and Landeskog each has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games. … Matthews has one goal in his past nine games after scoring nine in his previous 10. … Tavares has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games.
