Patrick Roy and the New York Islanders travel to Denver to face off against the Avalanche tonight. This will be the first time Brock Nelson has played his former team. It will also be Jonathan Drouin’s first return to Ball Arena. Drouin currently has three goals and eleven assists in 17 games with the Islanders. Expect Taylor Makar to roll back into the lineup since he was called up earlier this morning.

Colorado Avalanche (12–1–5)

After a dominant 6–3 win over the Buffalo Sabres, the Colorado Avalanche are on a five-game win streak and have the best record in the NHL. Nathan MacKinnon is on an eleven-game point streak, having racked up nine goals and fifteen assists in that time. Valeri Nichushkin is still out week-to-week with a lower-body injury. But Gavin Brindley continues to fill in the gap, proving his worth and earning himself a contract extension last week.

Projected Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Gavin Brindley
Gabriel Landeskog – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly – Zakhar Bardakov – Taylor Makar

Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Samuel Girard – Sam Malinski

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

New York Islanders (10–6–2)

The Islanders are on a four-game winning streak. Their last game was a 3–2 overtime win against Utah. They have 22 points and currently sit in a wild-card spot in the Metropolitan Division, but they only need one point out of tonight’s game to jump into third place. Bo Horvat leads the team in points, followed by Mathew Barzal and rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer. Schaefer, who was the first overall pick of the 2025 draft, earned the title of NHL Rookie of the Month in October.

Projected Lines

Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri
Jonathan Drouin – Mathew Barzal – Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Anthony Duclair
Casey Cizikas – Calum Ritchie – Maxim Tsyplakov

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Alexander Romanov – Adam Boqvist

Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich

Game Details

Time: 7:00 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, MSGSN (NYI), ESPN+ (out of market)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950