Rangers at Avalanche

RANGERS (18-6-3) at AVALANCHE (16-7-2)

Rangers projected lineup
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Kaapo Kakko
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Dryden Hunt
Alexis Lafreniere
-- Filip Chytil -- Julien Gauthier
Kevin Rooney -- Barclay Goodrow -- Ryan Reaves
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth -- Libor Hajek
Alexandar Georgiev
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Greg McKegg
Injured: Sammy Blais (lower body), Nils Lundkvist (non-COVID illness), Igor Shesterkin (lower body)
Avalanche projected lineup
Andre Burakovsky -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin -- Nazem Kadri -- Logan O'Connor
Nicolas Aube-Kubel -- Alex Newhook -- J.T. Compher
Tyson Jost --
Mikhail Maltsev
-- Darren Helm
Samuel Girard -- Cale Makar
Justin Barron
-- Erik Johnson
Jack Johnson -- Kurtis MacDermid
Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz
Scratched: None
Injured:Bowen Byram (head), Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Jacob MacDonald (upper body), Stefan Matteau (lower body), Ryan Murray (lower body)
COVID-19 protocol: Devon Toews
Status report
Lundqvist, a defenseman, will miss his second straight game. … Toews, a defenseman, tested positive for COVID-19 and will be in protocol until after Christmas. ... Kadri will return after missing two games with a lower-body injury. … Barron will make his NHL debut after being recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Tuesday. ... Goalie Jonas Johansson was claimed on waivers by the Florida Panthers.