COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thursday night will see the Colorado Avalanche get right back into the swing of things. They’ll face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time since opening night at Ball Arena in October.

Since these two last faced off, a lot has happened. Columbus is amidst the Eastern Conference playoff race, fighting for every point they can. Meanwhile, the Avs are in the middle of their own running for playoff seeding with a vastly different team than in October. Nonetheless, the Jackets will look for another win for the season sweep.

Last Time Out for the Avalanche

The Avs had a long night on Wednesday. They were part of the TNT nightcap against the Chicago Blackhawks, which didn’t start until 8:52 p.m. CT. Not only that, but the game went beyond regulation and into a shootout for the second straight game in a row. Colorado did just enough to rescue two points in their 3-2 win. Plus, the Avalanche didn’t leave Chicago until Thursday morning because of the weather.

Last Time Out for the Blue Jackets

Columbus has been a part of several high-scoring thrillers in their last few games. Last game was no different against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night at home, where they came out on top 8-4.

Colorado Avalanche (46-26-4) Projected Lineup

Martin Necas (88) – Nathan MacKinnon (29) – Artturi Lehkonen (62)
Jonathan Drouin (27) – Brock Nelson (11) – Valeri Nichushkin (13)
Joel Kiviranta (94) – Charlie Coyle (10) – Ross Colton (20)
Parker Kelly (17) – Jack Drury (18) – Logan O’Connor (25)

Devon Toews (7) – Cale Makar (8)
Ryan Lindgren (55) – Sam Malinski (70)
Erik Johnson (6) – Sam Girard (49)

Mackenzie Blackwood (39)
Scott Wedgewood (41)

Columbus Blue Jackets (34-30-9) Projected Lines

Dmitri Voronkov (10) – Sean Monahan (23) – Kirill Marchenko (86)
Boone Jenner (38) – Adam Fantilli (19) – Kent Johnson (91)
Cole Sillinger (4) – Justin Danforth (17) – Mathiew Olivier (24)
Zach Aston-Reese (27) – Sean Kuraly (7) – Luke Kunin (11)

Zach Werenski (8) – Dante Fabbro (15)
Denton Mateychuk (5) – Ivan Provorov (9)
Jake Christansen (2) – Damon Severson (78)

Elvis Merzlikins (70)
Daniil Tarasov (40)

Game Details

Time: 5:30 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, FDSNOH, ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM