Stars at Avalanche preview

STARS (5-8-1) at AVALANCHE (8-2-2)
9 p.m. ET, ESPN+, ALT, FS-SW, NHL.TV

MacKinnon has 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in the first 12 games of the season, tying Joe Sakic (1988-89) for the fourth-longest streak from the start of a season in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history.
If MacKinnon gets a point, he would have the longest season-opening streak in the NHL since Henrik Zetterberg had a 17-game streak with the Detroit Red Wings from Oct. 3-Nov. 11, 2007.
Anton Khudobin is expected to start in goal for the Stars, who are 4-1-0 in their past five games after a 1-7-1 start. He made 11 saves on 12 shots in relief of Ben Bishop in a 6-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

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Players to watch

Stars forward Alexander Radulov had a hat trick and an assist against the Wild on Tuesday after going five games without a point and nine games without a goal.
Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has four points (one goal, three assists) in the past five games. His nine assists in October set a Colorado record for a rookie defenseman in a single month.

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They said it

"Colorado is a top team in this League with great players. It's definitely going to be a good challenge for us, but we know what we've got in here and we've got something to build off. We're looking forward to the opportunity." -- Stars forward Jamie Benn
"(Dallas is) a big, strong team. They're fast, real mobile, they have a defense corps that gets up and helps them provide offense. They have a handful of guys on the back end that you really have to be aware of. You have to have your heads on a swivel." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar

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Stars projected lineup

Jamie Benn -- Tyler Seguin -- Alexander Radulov
Denis Gurianov -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski
Mattias Janmark -- Jason Dickinson -- Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano -- Radek Faksa -- Nick Caamano
Esa Lindell -- John Klingberg
Jamie Oleksiak -- Miro Heiskanen
Joel Hanley -- Taylor Fedun
Anton Khudobin
Ben Bishop
Scratched: Justin Dowling
Injured:Blake Comeau (lower body), Martin Hanzal (back), Stephen Johns (post-traumatic headaches), Roman Polak (fractured sternum), Andrej Sekera (upper body)

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Avalanche projected lineup

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

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Status report

The Stars did not have a morning skate. ... Comeau might play against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. He's been out since Oct. 3, the season opener, against the Boston Bruins.

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Stat pack

Faksa will play his 300th NHL game. ... Kadri has three points (two goals, one assist) in the past three games. He needs one assist for 200 in the NHL.