Thursday night will mark Brock Nelson’s return for the first time against the New York Islanders in New York. During his 13 years in the NHL, he has played against them only once, back on November 16 in Denver. The Colorado Avalanche could see a couple more former players in Jonathan Drouin, Callum Ritchie and head coach Patrick Roy. The Islanders have been able to keep their pace going despite losing two key players in recent weeks. So, expect a grinding battle to the last whistle with this one.

Colorado Avalanche (18–1–6 44pts)

The Avalanche had a slow start to the game against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. Some defensive slips led to the Canucks getting out ahead by one early, but the Avs fought back. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 21st and 22nd goals to take the NHL lead in goals. Defenseman Sam Malinski assisted on the first MacKinnon goal, giving him 11 assists for the year and a new career high. Captain Gabriel Landeskog extended his point streak to four games, tallying seven points (3g/4a) in that span. Unfortunately, goaltender Scott Wedgewood left the game with back tightness. Mackenzie Blackwood had no problem coming in and holding the fort for the 3–1 victory.

Projected Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Ross Colton – Brock Nelson – Gabriel Landeskog
Valeri Nichushkin – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly – Zakhar Bardakov – Joel Kiviranta

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

Mackenzie Blackwood
Trent Miner

New York Islanders (14–10–3 31pts)

On Tuesday, the Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, ending Tampa Bay’s seven-game win streak. This was despite losing forward Kyle Palmieri to an ACL injury earlier in the week. Bo Horvat started the scoring, netting his team-leading 16th goal of the season. Anthony Duclair followed the goal up in the third, assisted by former Avalanche Callum Ritchie. The win put the Islanders just outside of the Wild Card in the East, sitting ahead of Saturday’s opponent, the New York Rangers.

Projected Lines

Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Maxim Shabanov
Anders Lee – Mathew Barzal – Jonathan Drouin
Simon Holmstrom – Calum Ritchie – Anthony Duclair
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Maxim Tsyplakov

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Mitchell – Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin
David Rittich

Game Details

Time: 5 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, KTVD My20, MSGSN (NYI) ESPN+ (out of market)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950