Avalanche at Kings preview

AVALANCHE (10-6-4) at KINGS (7-12-1)
10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, ALT, NHL.TV

Rantanen, MacKinnon and Landeskog combined for eight points (three goals, five assists) in a 4-3 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday to open a three-game road trip, with Rantanen scoring the winning goal.
Rantanen, MacKinnon and Landeskog are the most productive line in the NHL through 20 games with 83 combined points (34 goals, 49 assists).
Kings rookie Calvin Petersen made 29 saves for his first NHL shutout in a 2-0 win at the St. Louis Blues. The Kings went 2-1-0 during their three-game road trip.

Players to watch

Rantanen leads the NHL in points (32) and assists (24). He has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past four games.
Kings center Anze Kopitar has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past two games.

They said it

"Even in games where we're not playing our best, we're finding ways to get points out of them." -- Avalanche forward Matt Nieto
"It is a battle when you put yourself in a hole. We understand that and we know every game is important, so we're going to have to bear down and get points where we can." -- Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alex Kerfoot -- Colin Wilson
Sheldon Dries -- Carl Soderberg - Matt Calvert
Matt Nieto -- Vladislav Kamenev - Sven Andrighetto
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Patrik Nemeth
Semyon Varlamov
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:Gabriel Bourque, Mark Barberio, Marko Dano
Injured: J.T. Compher (concussion), Conor Timmins (concussion)

Kings projected lineup

Alex Iafallo -- Anze Kopitar -- Dustin Brown
Ilya Kovalchuk -- Jeff Carter -- Tyler Toffoli
Carl Hagelin -- Adrian Kempe -- Matt Luff
Kyle Clifford -- Nate Thompson -- Austin Wagner
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin -- Alec Martinez
Dion Phaneuf -- Oscar Fantenberg
Calvin Petersen
Peter Budaj
Scratched:Paul LaDue
Injured: Trevor Lewis (foot), Jack Campbell (knee), Jonathan Quick (knee), Jonny Brodzinski (shoulder)

Status report

Compher could return against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday. Compher, who has four points (three goals, one assist) in five games, has not played since Oct. 13. … Quick has worked out before the Kings practiced each of the past two days, facing shots from teammates Wednesday.

Stat pack

Barrie has six points (one goal, five assists) during a five-game point streak. Barrie, who has an assist in five consecutive games, is tied with Adam Foote for second-most career assists by an Avalanche defenseman with 203. … Varlamov can become the fifth Russian-born goalie with 200 career NHL wins. … The Kings have lost three straight at home (0-3-0) and have been outscored 9-2 in that span.