NHL Preview – Game 15: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Colorado Avalanche

Jan 21, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) shoots and scores on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer (34) in the second period at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Avalanche (3-6-5, 11 points) face a must-win game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Colorado sits towards the bottom of the Western Conference standings with 11 points – tied with the Arizona Coyotes and only ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. It’s still very early in the season as Colorado sits just 6 points behind the St. Louis Blues in the Central Division standings.

What: NHL Preview – Game 15: Toronto Maple Leafs (6-5-1, 13 points) vs. Colorado Avalanche (3-6-5, 11 points)
When: Thursday, November 6th
Where: Pepsi Center (Denver, Colorado)
Time: 9:00 PM EST, 7:00 PM MST
TV: Altitude Sports

Colorado is coming off of a collapse to the Vancouver Canucks where they led 2-0 late into the second period. Vancouver went on to score five unanswered goals, knocking the Avs’ off in a final of 5-2. In the loss, John Mitchell and Jamie McGinn recorded the goals for Colorado.

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Patrick Roy is at it again – shuffling the line combinations of the forwards. Here’s how tonight’s lines will look.

Line 1: Ryan O’Reilly – Matt Duchene – Jamie McGinn
Line 2: Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Jarome Iginla
Line 3: Alex Tanguay – John Mitchell – Dennis Everberg
Line 4: Cody McLeod – Marc-andre Cliche – Maxime Talbot

Roy will elect to give goaltender Semyon Varlamov a break tonight as Reto Berra is scheduled to be the net-minder.

The Avs’ and Maple Leafs have already met once this season, resulting in a 3-2 Leafs victory in Toronto. Phil Kessel was basically a one-man shot at the Air Canada Centre, scoring the game-winner in overtime to give the Leafs two-points. Kessel also recorded an assist in the win – earning first-star honors.

Puck-drop between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST, 7:00 PM MST