AVALANCHE (10-15-1) at MAPLE LEAFS (11-10-5)
7 p.m. ET; SN, ALT, NHL.TV
Avalanche team scope
The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a 10-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. They've won once in their past eight games and are 30th in the NHL standings. "It's tough to describe," coach Jared Bednar said after the loss to the Canadiens. "I'm going to take the blame for that one because we weren't prepared to start the game. They're the best team in the League with the best record at home, and we're all the way down in the standings and we weren't prepared to play. So that one's on me. When it's two guys, that's on them. When it's the whole team, that's on me." The Avalanche are 1-2-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Maple Leafs team scope
Goalie Antoine Bibeau will make his first NHL start for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bibeau was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Dec. 6. "Just get out there and play, don't think, don't get in your own way," coach Mike Babcock said. "Just like any young player coming with an opportunity, there's always nerves. You have to handle that and be who you are." The Maple Leafs begin a five-game homestand coming off a 4-1 win against the Bruins on Saturday and are 0-4-1 in the second game of a back-to-back. "We have to figure that out because I think we have the most in the League," forward James van Riemsdyk said. "Just playing consistently and not making the mistakes that end up beating yourself because in the second of back-to-backs, it's a little bit tougher, some parts of the game become tougher when you are chasing the game. We want to make sure we're not making any mental errors where we are giving away freebies.""
Avalanche projected lineup
Rene Bourque -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog -- Carl Soderberg -- Mikhail Grigorenko
Matt Duchene -- John Mitchell -- Mikko Rantanen
Andreas Martinsen -- Joe Colborne -- Blake Comeau
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie
Patrick Wiercioch -- Fedor Tyutin
Francois Beauchemin -- Cody Goloubef
Scratched: Eric Gelinas, Cody McLeod
Injured: Erik Johnson
Maple Leafs projected lineup
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Mitchell Marner
Leo Komarov - Nazem Kadri - Connor Brown
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Matt Martin -- Ben Smith -- Nikita Soshnikov
Morgan Rielly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick
Antoine Bibeau
Scratched: Josh Leivo, Frank Corrado
Injured: Martin Marincin
Status report
Marincin will not play after sustaining a lower-body injury Saturday. Carrick will replace him in the lineup. ... Leivo was activated to the 23-man roster for the first time this season. Babcock did not set a target for him to get into the lineup. "He wants me to work hard and show that I want it, I have to earn a spot to get back in the lineup because these guys are playing well," Levio said. "It's my job to work hard and get back into it."
Who's hot
Matthews has six goals in his past seven games. ... Van Riemsdyk has four goals in his past six games. ... MacKinnon has two goals and four points in his past three games. ... Duchene has three goals in his past three games.
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