Preview: Maple Leafs at Avalanche

MAPLE LEAFS (12-12-7) at AVALANCHE (11-19-1)
9 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN4, NHL.TV

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Maple Leafs team scope

Goalie Frederik Andersen will start for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are playing the first of three consecutive road games. Toronto is 1-2-2 in its past five games and 2-4-3 in the past nine. The Maple Leafs have allowed at least one power-play goal in four consecutive games and gave up two goals in five shorthanded situations in a 3-2 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. "We've got to stay out of the box," coach Mike Babcock said. "Three [penalties] is fine, five is way too many." Center Auston Matthews has nine goals in the past 12 games following a 13-game stretch in which he had no goals and three assists. He is the second-leading rookie scorer with 24 points (15 goals, nine assists). "I don't think it's something you focus on too much," Matthews said. "Points, numbers, all that stuff, I think you just kind of go day by day, just treat it like another day. It's an opportunity to get better. We have a good group of young guys here, a young core that we want to build up over the next couple years and be a dominant team."

Avalanche team scope

The Colorado Avalanche have lost four consecutive games, are 2-10-1 in their past 13 and 0-6-1 in their past seven at home. "It's embarrassing, everything about it [stinks]," center Nathan MacKinnon said. "It's definitely gloomy. We're trying to stay positive, but it's tough when you're in 30th [place in the overall standings]. It wears on you, I'd be lying if I said it didn't. We're very thankful to play this game, but when you lose this much it's a horrible feeling." First-year coach Jared Bednar said he is as frustrated as his players. "I'm dealing with it as good as I can," he said. "You come to work the next day and you get back to work and you look at ways we can help our team be better and help to give them some confidence." Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start. He made 51 saves in a 3-1 road win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 11. The Avalanche are 1-for-17 on the power play in their past four games. "Too many times on the power play we're forcing plays and looking for the perfect play, the pretty play," Bednar said. "The way we're struggling offensively 5-on-5, we need it to be real good every night."

Maple Leafs projected lineup

James van Riemsdyk -- Nazem Kadri -- Mitchell Marner
Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Connor Brown
Leo Komarov -- Frederik Gauthier -- William Nylander
Matt Martin -- Byron Froese -- Nikita Soshnikov
Morgan Rielly -- Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner -- Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick -- Roman Polak
Frederik Andersen
Antoine Bibeau
Scratched: Frank Corrado, Josh Leivo
Injured: Tyler Bozak (lower body), Martin Marincin (lower body), Ben Smith (hand)

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Rene Bourque
Mikhail Grigorenko -- Matt Duchene -- Mikko Rantanen
Blake Comeau -- John Mitchell -- Jarome Iginla
Cody McLeod -- Carl Soderberg -- Joe Colborne
Fedor Tyutin -- Tyson Barrie
Francois Beauchemin -- Cody Goloubef
Nikita Zadorov -- Patrick Wiercioch
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Scratched:Eric Gelinas, Andreas Martinsen
Injured:Erik Johnson (broken fibula)

Status report

Smith, who was injured Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, will be out indefinitely and has been placed on injured reserve. Froese will center the fourth line after being recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Who's hot

Matthews has nine goals and two assists in the past 12 games. Gardiner has two goals and three assists in six games. Marner has one goal and two assists in three games ... Duchene has five goals and three assists in Colorado's past eight games.