Devils at Avalanche preview

DEVILS (14-6-4) at AVALANCHE (12-9-2)
9 p.m. ET; ALT, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV

Vatanen, who has four points (one goal, three assists) in 15 games, will be on the top defense pair with Andy Greene and will play on the first power-play unit.
Devils left wing Marcus Johansson will play after missing 13 games because of a concussion he sustained Nov. 1 against the Vancouver Canucks. Johansson will be on a line with center Travis Zajac and right wing Pavel Zacha.
Avalanche forward Nail Yakupov will move from right wing on the fourth line to left wing on the top line with center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Mikko Rantanen. He replaces Sven Andrighetto, who had been shifted there in place of suspended forward Gabrial Landeskog against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

Players to watch

Devils rookie Will Butcher is tied for fifth among NHL defensemen with 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) in 24 games. He was a fifth-round selection (No. 123) by the Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Draft but signed with New Jersey as a free agent Aug. 27 after four years at the University of Denver. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the top men's Division I NCAA hockey player last season.
Avalanche center Alex Kerfoot is tied for seventh among NHL rookies with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 23 games. The Devils selected him in the sixth round (No. 150) in the 2012 NHL Draft and he signed with Colorado as a free agent Aug. 23 after four years at Harvard.

They said it

"I kind of feel normal again. It feels like a good time to come back and play." -- Devils left wing Marcus Johansson
"Defense first, but when I have a chance I want to jump in and try to make some plays." -- Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who has a goal in two consecutive games after scoring one in his first 16 games

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Marcus Johansson --
Travis Zajac
--
Pavel Zacha
Brian Gibbons -- Blake Coleman -- Drew Stafford
Miles Wood -- Brian Boyle -- Stefan Noesen
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatnanen
John Moore -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Jimmy Hayes, Dalton Prout, Steven Santini
Injured:Mirco Mueller (collarbone), Kyle Palmieri (broken right foot)

Avalanche projected lineup

Nail Yakupov -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alexander Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Sven Andrighetto -- Dominic Toninato -- Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov -- Mark Barberio
Anton Lindholm -- Tyson Barrie
Semyon Varlamov
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched:Duncan Siemens
Injured:Vladislav Kamenev (broken arm), Patrik Nemeth (back), Colin Wilson (hip, groin)
Suspended:Gabriel Landeskog

Status report

Nemeth skated for the second straight day and could be cleared for contact next week. He has missed the past nine games.

Stat pack

The Devils are 0-4-2 at Pepsi Center since a 4-2 win March 15, 2008 ... The Avalanche are averaging 4.09 goals per game at home, where they are 8-2-1.