Penguins at Avalanche preview

PENGUINS (17-14-3) at AVALANCHE (15-15-2)
9 p.m. ET; ALT, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

Coach Mike Sullivan said Hornqvist has returned to Pittsburgh for evaluation of the upper-body injury he sustained in a 4-2 win at the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Hornqvist has 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 31 games.
Forward
Dominik Simon
(illness) didn't take part in the morning skate and will be a game-time decision. Goaltender Matt Murray will start for the Penguins, who have split the first two games of their trip.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start for the Avalanche, who are 1-1-0 in the first two games of a three-game homestand. They are 3-2-0 in the past five games after a four-game losing streak.
Defenseman Erik Johnson will serve the first of his two-game suspension for boarding Tampa Bay forward Vladislav Namestnikov on Saturday. He averages 25:38 in ice time and leads Colorado defensemen in goals (four) and blocked shots (68).

Players to watch

Sidney Crosby has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in the Penguins' past 12 games. He has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 11 games against Colorado.
Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past two games. He has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 16 home games.

They said it

"It's fun. He's obviously having a great year, playing really well. We'll have to be aware of him out there. It's good to see him. We train together in the summer, you see how hard he works and you want to see him do well. That being said, when we play against each other, you want to win." -- Penguins center Sidney Crosby on playing against MacKinnon, a fellow Nova Scotia resident
"Bad mistake on my part. No excuse on my end, just kind of a dangerous play that I shouldn't make. It's an expensive mistake. I definitely expected maybe a little bit when you get a hearing. I'm happy he wasn't hurt." -- Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson, on his suspension

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Josh Archibald
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Conor Sheary -- Riley Sheahan -- Phil Kessel
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Carter Rowney -- Ryan Reaves
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Chad Ruhwedel
Ian Cole -- Matt Hunwick
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched: Kevin Czuczman](https://www.nhl.com/player/kevin-czuczman-8477814?season=20172018)
Injured: Patric Hornqvist (upper body), Justin Schultz (lower body), Dominik Simon (illness)

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Alex Kerfoot -- Tyson Jost -- Nail Yakupov
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Sven Andrighetto -- J.T. Compher -- Colin Wilson
Nikita Zadorov -- Mark Barberio
Patrik Nemeth -- Tyson Barrie
Samuel Girard -- Anton Lindholm
Semyon Varlamov
Jonathan Bernier
Scratched: Gabriel Bourque](https://www.nhl.com/player/gabriel-bourque-8475268)
Injured: Vladislav Kamenev](https://www.nhl.com/player/vladislav-kamenev-8477973?season=20172018) (broken arm)
Suspended:Erik Johnson

Status report

Kerfoot will play after missing three games because of a foot injury.

Stat pack

The Penguins' penalty-killers are 23-for-23 in their past eight games ... The Avalanche have allowed one power-play goal on 24 opportunities in their past eight games.