The Colorado Avalanche are playing their first game since Saturday, a 5-2 road loss to the Florida Panthers, and their first at home since a 6-5 season-opening win against Dallas on Oct. 15. Rookie right wing Mikko Rantanen, Colorado's first-round pick (No. 10) in the 2015 NHL Draft, will play his first game of the season with the Avalanche after starting with San Antonio of the American Hockey League, where he had two assists in four games. "I'm excited, there are some butterflies, but that's how it should be," said Rantanen, who missed all six preseason games while recovering from an ankle injury. The 6-foot-4, 211-pound forward will play on a line with left wing Mikhail Grigorenko and center Nathan MacKinnon. Rantanen played in nine games for Colorado last season without a point. He was co-winner of the AHL Rookie of the Year after getting 24 goals and 60 points in 52 games with San Antonio. Rantanen's presence prompted coach Jared Bednar to move Matt Duchene from right wing to his natural center position on a line with left wing Gabriel Landeskog and right wing Jarome Iginla. "Even when I'm playing wing, I feel like kind of a hybrid, but I'm excited to take a lot of faceoffs," Duchene said. Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start his fourth consecutive game. He has a 10-7-2 record against the Jets with a 2.76 goals-against average and .909 save percentage.
