Senators at Avalanche preview

SENATORS (18-26-11) at AVALANCHE (32-16-6)
9 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV

The center, who has 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists) in 51 games this season, is out indefinitely because of a lower-body injury sustained in the second period of a 3-2 win at the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, when he fell awkwardly during a face-off. Forward J.T. Compher will replace Kadri on the second line, playing between Valeri Nichushkin and right wing Andre Burakovsky.
The Avalanche, 7-1-0 in their past eight games, are in second place in the Central Division, three points behind the St. Louis Blues.
The Senators, trying to end a five-game winless streak (0-3-2), are 2-8-7 in their past 16 games. Ottawa is 15th in the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Senators forward Connor Brown has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past 10 games.
Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has five points (one goal, four assists) in a four-game point streak.
They said it
"We're going to have to be more intense. We're going to have to get after their [defensemen] a lot more. We know they're really good, but you're going to have to hit them and stop them breaking the puck out. They are the best breakout team in the League for a reason." -- Senators coach D.J. Smith on facing Colorado
"We're happy with the way we're playing right now, and now we've got to convert this to home ice and make sure we get jumping here at Pepsi Center." -- Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Connor Brown
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Chris Tierney -- Drake Batherson
Nicholas Paul -- Artem Anisimov -- Anthony Duclair
Tyler Ennis -- Colin White -- Mikkel Boedker
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Ron Hainsey -- Cody Goloubef
Mike Reilly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Marcus Hogberg
Craig Anderson
Scratched: Mark Borowiecki, Filip Chlapik, Andreas Englund
Injured: Anders Nilsson (concussion)

Avalanche projected lineup

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

Status report

Borowiecki, a defenseman, will miss his second game to be with his wife, Tara, after the birth of their first child on Sunday. … The Senators assigned defenseman Christian Wolanin to Belleville of the American Hockey League.

Stat pack

Boedker will play in his 700th NHL game. … Tkachuk has a goal and an assist in his past two games. … MacKinnon has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games against Ottawa. … This is Colorado's first home game since a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 20.