Blue Jackets at Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche will try to end the calendar year on a high note when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Colorado is winless in four games and is 4-5-4 since entering December with a 19-6-0 mark. The Blue Jackets have won three of their last four road games as they try to climb into an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Avalanche are still a strong home team, with a 12-5-2 overall record and one regulation loss in five December contests at Pepsi Center. Columbus has just one win in four games against Central opponents but finished its last season in the Western Conference with five victories in its last six away games against its then-division rivals. Semyon Varlamov will be in net for Colorado looking for his first win in four starts.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio, Altitude Sports
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (17-18-4): Curtis McElhinney is 4-3-0 in seven starts while Sergei Bobrovsky continues to rehabilitate a groin injury. Brandon Dubinsky has points in his last three games and 10 in 12 contests this month. Ryan Johansen, who has eight of his 15 goals in road games, will need to continue producing to make up for the absence of Marian Gaborik, who is expected to miss two months with a broken collarbone.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (23-11-4): PA Parenteau, who has 24 points in 38 contests, is considered day-to-day with the knee injury he suffered in Sunday’s overtime loss to Winnipeg. Matt Duchene has been red-hot this month with 14 points in 10 games and leads the team with 34. Varlamov is 3-2-4 in December with a .914 save percentage after posting a .924 mark in November and a remarkable .945 in October.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado is 7-for-48 on home power-play opportunities, while Columbus is 10-for-64 with the man-advantage on the road.
2. The Avalanche are 4-1-0 against Metropolitan Division opponents.
3. Columbus has won four of its last five meetings against the Avalanche.