Colorado hosts Minnesota after Rantanen's 2-goal game

Minnesota Wild (18-9-1, third in the West Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (18-8-2, second in the West Division)

Denver; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Colorado hosts the Minnesota Wild after Mikko Rantanen scored two goals in the Avalanche's 5-1 victory over the Wild.

The Avalanche are 18-8-2 against opponents in the West Division. Colorado is the top team in the Nhl with 5.8 assists per game, led by Cale Makar averaging 0.8.

The Wild are 18-9-1 against the rest of their division. Minnesota averages 9.0 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the Nhl. Jordan Greenway leads the team serving 36 total minutes.

The teams meet for the second game in a row.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 19 assists and has 28 points this season. Rantanen has eight goals and eight assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.

Kirill Kaprizov has 25 total points while scoring 10 goals and totaling 15 assists for the Wild. Marcus Foligno has three goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-2-1, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.7 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.2 goals per game with a .901 save percentage.

Wild: 6-3-1, averaging three goals, 4.7 assists, 3.5 penalties and 7.9 penalty minutes while allowing 2.3 goals per game with a .925 save percentage.

INJURIES: Avalanche: J.T. Compher: day to day (upper body), Conor Timmins: day to day (upper body), Dennis Gilbert: out (face).

Wild: Marcus Foligno: day to day (leg).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by