Avalanche at Bruins
The Colorado Avalanche attempt to put an end to their six-game winless streak as they continue their four-game road trip Thursday against the Boston Bruins. Last in the league with 19 points, Colorado has not won since edging Columbus in overtime Nov. 21, falling to 0-5-1 in that span when it began its trek with a 4-3 setback in Nashville on Tuesday.
Matt Duchene leads the Avalanche with nine goals, overtaking Rene Bourque — and ending his five-game drought — by scoring twice against the Predators. Boston's string of consecutive one-goal contests continued Wednesday but its three-game winning streak came to a halt as it dropped a 4-3 decision at Washington in overtime. It was the fifth straight game decided by one tally and fourth in that span to go beyond regulation for the Bruins, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit to earn a point. David Pastrnak scored his team-best 16th goal — and third in two games — in the loss to climb within one of league co-leaders Patrik Laine of Winnipeg and Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (9-14-1): Defenseman Fedor Tyutin is expected to return to the lineup against Boston after missing two games with a lower-body injury, but captain Gabriel Landeskog's status for the contest is questionable. Tyutin was a full participant in Wednesday's practice, but Landeskog missed the session with an illness, leaving his return from a lower-body issue that has sidelined him for nine contests up in the air. Blue-liner Francois Beauchemin is expected to play versus the Bruins after skipping Wednesday's practice with a hand injury.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (15-10-2): Noel Acciari was assigned to Providence of the American Hockey League prior to Wednesday's game as he continues to recover from a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old center remains in search of his first NHL goal after notching two assists in 12 games this season and one in 19 contests last campaign. Captain Zdeno Chara saw nearly 22 minutes of ice time Wednesday in his second game back from a lower-body injury, finishing third on the team behind fellow defensemen Brandon Carlo (22:30) and Torey Krug (22:22).
OVERTIME
1. The Bruins are 4-0-2 on their six-game point streak.
2. Colorado was 2-for-4 on the power play against Nashville after going 2-for-25 over its previous 10 games.
3. Boston RW Jimmy Hayes was the only member of the team who failed to register a shot on goal Wednesday.