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Blue Jackets host the Avalanche following shutout win

Colorado Avalanche (30-16-6, second in the Central Division) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-16-9, third in the Metropolitan Division)

Columbus, Ohio; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche visit Columbus after the Blue Jackets shut out Detroit 2-0. Elvis Merzlikins earned the victory in the net for Columbus after recording 16 saves.

The Blue Jackets are 18-9-2 at home. Columbus averages only 3.0 penalties per game, the fewest in the NHL. Pierre-Luc Dubois leads the team averaging 0.3.

The Avalanche are 16-9-2 on the road. Colorado ranks second in the NHL averaging 6.2 assists per game, led by Nathan MacKinnon with 0.8.

In their last meeting on Nov. 9, Colorado won 4-2. Cale Makar scored two goals for the Avalanche.

TOP PERFORMERS: Dubois leads the Blue Jackets with 42 points, scoring 17 goals and collecting 25 assists. Nick Foligno has recorded four assists over the last 10 games for Columbus.

MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 30 goals and has recorded 74 points. Andre Burakovsky has three goals and 12 assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.

LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 5-3-2, averaging 3.6 goals, six assists, 3.1 penalties and 8.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.5 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.

Blue Jackets: 9-0-1, averaging 2.8 goals, 3.9 assists, 2.2 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while giving up 1.1 goals per game with a .963 save percentage.

INJURIES: Blue Jackets: Joonas Korpisalo: out (lower body), Alexander Wennberg: out (upper body).

Avalanche: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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