Rantanen, Avalanche to host the Sabres
Buffalo Sabres (30-28-9, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Colorado Avalanche (29-27-12, 10th in the Western Conference)
Denver; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Mikko Rantanen leads Colorado into a matchup with Buffalo. He currently ranks fifth in the NHL with 85 points, scoring 29 goals and recording 56 assists.
The Avalanche are 14-12-6 at home. Colorado serves 10.2 penalty minutes per game, the most in the Western Conference. Ian Cole leads the team serving 111 total minutes.
The Sabres are 11-18-5 on the road. Buffalo has scored 38 power-play goals, converting on 18.9 percent of chances. In their last meeting on Oct. 11, Colorado won 6-1. Rantanen recorded a team-high three assists for the Avalanche in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rantanen has recorded 85 total points while scoring 29 goals and adding 56 assists for the Avalanche. Gabriel Landeskog has collected eight assists and totaled 11 points over the last 10 games for Colorado.
LAST 10 GAMES: Sabres: 2-6-2, averaging 7.2 points, 2.7 goals, 4.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game with a .906 save percentage.
Avalanche: 6-3-1, averaging 9 points, 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, 4.4 penalties and 10.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .935 save percentage.
Avalanche Injuries: Gabriel Landeskog: out (upper body), Matt Nieto: out (lower body).
Sabres Injuries: Jake McCabe: out (upper body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.