Top scorers meet in Colorado-Calgary matchup

Calgary Flames (32-14-7, first in the Pacific) vs. Colorado Avalanche (40-11-4, first in the Central)

Denver; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Two of the league's best scorers, Nazem Kadri and Johnny Gaudreau, meet when Colorado and Calgary face off. Kadri is fifth in the NHL with 68 points and Gaudreau ranks sixth in the league with 68 points.

The Avalanche are 24-6-2 in conference matchups. Colorado averages 10.6 points per game to lead the Western Conference, recording 3.9 goals and 6.7 assists per game.

The Flames are 7-6-1 against opponents from the Pacific. Calgary averages 9.6 penalty minutes per game, the fourth-most in the Western Conference. Milan Lucic leads the team serving 59 total minutes.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Gabriel Landeskog leads the Avalanche with 29 goals, adding 26 assists and collecting 55 points. Cale Makar has 15 assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.

Gaudreau leads the Flames with 47 total assists and has 68 points. Elias Lindholm has 16 points over the last 10 games for Calgary.

LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.5 assists, 2.7 penalties and six penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game with a .925 save percentage.

Flames: 8-1-1, averaging 4.4 goals, 7.6 assists, 4.9 penalties and 12.8 penalty minutes while allowing 2.6 goals per game with a .912 save percentage.

INJURIES: Avalanche: Bowen Byram: out (personal), Valeri Nichushkin: day to day (upper body).

Flames: None listed.

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