Key points: Colorado Avalanche renew hostilities Washington Capitals

The Colorado Avalanche will renew hostilities with the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at the Capital One Arena.

The Avalanche (10-9-1) are currently fourth in the Central Division, three points ahead of fifth-place Utah and four points back of the third-place Dallas Stars. Meanwhile, the Capitals (13-4-1) are second in the Metro Division, one point back of the Carolina Hurricanes and one point up on the third-place New Jersey Devils. It's worth noting that the Caps will be without their captain Alex Ovechkin who's currently out with lower-body injury following a collision with Jack McBain of the Utah Hockey Club.

The last time these two clubs met, the Capitals skated away with a 5-2 win at Ball Arena. The game marked the return of Valeri Nichushkin to the Avalanche lineup. However, Nichushkin had a quiet night. In two games thus far, Nichushkin is yet to register on the scoresheet.

So, let’s take a look at three key points ahead of Thursday night’s game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Washington Capitals.

3 key points ahead of Thursday night tilt between Colorado Avalanche and Washington Capitals

Georgiev a game-time decision

Alexandar Georgiev was placed on IR on November 13 with an upper-body injury. Since then, Justus Annunen has carried the load. However, Georgiev could be an option on Thursday night. It all depends on how Georgiev feels following practice. If all goes well, Georgiev should get the call against the Caps.

No lineup changes expected

The Avs are expected to roll with the same lines as their last outing against the Philadelphia Flyers. The top line figures to be Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Jonathan Drouin. The second unit should have a lot more punch with Nichushkin, Casey Mittelstadt, and Mikko Rantanen.

Mittelstadt had a goal and an assist against the Flyers, while Rantanen added two helpers. MacKinnon and Drouin ended the night with one assist. Cale Makar continued his torrid pace, scoring two goals. So, it seems the Avs lineup has found stability, and could potentially continue to improve with Ross Colton’s return in about three weeks.

The fourth line not seeing much ice time

Last time out, the fourth line didn’t see much action. Ivan Ivan registered 7:25 minutes of ice time, with Nikolai Kovalenko getting 6:50 and Miles Wood 8:34. As such, it appears coach Jared Bednar is rolling with three lines for now.

This trend seems to indicate that Bednar feels the team is nearing full strength. When the lineup was much more depleted, Bednar rolled with four lines in order to avoid overplaying a single line or group of players.