Preview: Rangers at Avalanche

RANGERS (25-12-1) at AVALANCHE (12-22-1)
8 p.m. ET; ALT, MSG2, NHL.TV

Rangers team scope

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will start for the New York Rangers after missing two games because of an illness. He's tied for 12th on the NHL all-time wins list with 389 and needs one to pass Dominik Hasek for the most by a Europe-born goalie. Lundqvist will play in his 711th game with the Rangers, tying him with Olaf Kolzig of the Washington Capitals for the fourth-most games with one franchise. The Rangers have won two games in a row and are 8-3-0 in their past 11. Forward Matt Puempel had three of the Rangers' four power-play goals in a 6-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday to open a two-game road trip. Defenseman Nick Holden will play against the Colorado Avalanche for the first time since he was traded to the Rangers on June 25 for a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Holden leads Rangers defensemen with seven goals, and his plus-16 rating is the best on the team. "I don't feel I'm doing anything different than I was doing before," he said. "We've been fortunate to be playing really well and scoring lots of goals, so that translates into extra points and stuff like that."

Avalanche team scope

Goalie Calvin Pickard will start his fourth consecutive game for the Avalanche, who have lost nine consecutive home games (0-8-1) since a 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 15. Overall, they've lost seven of their past eight (1-7-0) and are 3-13-1 since Nov. 23. "We've obviously not played well at home, so it's a chance for us to have a really good crowd and show the fans we haven't given up," defenseman Tyson Barrie said. "They deserve better, and we have to give them better. We've got a lot of work to do to win our fans back. Traditionally it's a fun game to play on New Year's Eve, so it's a good opportunity for us to stop this home slide we're on." The Avalanche didn't have a morning skate, but coach Jared Bednar said after practice Friday that he was considering changing some line combinations in an attempt to generate more offense. Matt Duchene is expected to move from center to left wing on a line with center Carl Soderberg and right wing Jarome Iginla. The Avalanche are 0-for-25 on the power play in the past five home games and 1-for-34 in their past eight games overall.

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Derek Stepan -- Mats Zuccarello
Michael Grabner -- Kevin Hayes -- J.T. Miller
Jimmy Vesey -- Oscar Lindberg -- Jesper Fast
Matt Puempel -- Marek Hrivik -- Brandon Pirri
Ryan McDonagh -- Kevin Klein
Marc Staal -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Dan Girardi
Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Raanta
Scratched: Adam Clendening
Injured: Pavel Buchnevich (back), Rick Nash (groin), Mika Zibanejad (broken fibula)

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Matt Duchene -- Carl Soderberg -- Jarome Iginla
Blake Comeau -- Mikhail Grigorenko -- Rene Bourque
Cody McLeod -- John Mitchell - Andreas Martinsen
Fedor Tyutin -- Tyson Barrie
Francois Beauchemin -- Nikita Zadorov
Patrick Wiercioch - Eric Gelinas
Calvin Pickard
Jeremy Smith
Scratched: Joe Colborne, Cody Goloubef
Injured:Erik Johnson (broken fibula), Semyon Varlamov (groin)

Status report

Nash skated Saturday but will miss his fifth consecutive game. "He's coming along," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said ... Bednar said Varlamov, who will miss his fourth consecutive game, is making progress and should be able to practice soon.

Who's hot

Zuccarello has seven assists during a five-game point streak. McDonagh has one goal and five assists during a three-game point streak. Holden has three goals and one assist in his past two games. Hayes has four assists in the past two games. Stepan has four goals and three assists in his past five games. Kreider has four goals and two assists in five games. Puempel has four goals and one assist in his past four games. ... Barrie has five assists during a three-game point streak. MacKinnon has one goal and three assists in his past three games.