PREVIEW: Red Wings visit Avalanche on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

DENVER -- The Detroit Red Wings will kick off a three-game road swing out west that begins on Monday afternoon in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche.

The Red Wings (18-16-7; 43 points) and Avalanche (21-17-3; 45 points) will battle in a 3 p.m. ET/1 p.m. MT puck drop from Ball Arena. Broadcast coverage will be available on Bally Sports Detroit and the Red Wings Radio Network (97.1 The Ticket in Detroit).
Monday's game will be the first of a back-to-back for Detroit, which earned four of a possible six points on its recent three-game homestand after dropping a 4-3 decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
"Our margin for error is thin," head coach Derek Lalonde said. "I think our group understands that. We let up just a little bit, that's what you get."

The Red Wings will face the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday before finishing their road trip at the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
Detroit has officially crossed the halfway mark of the 2022-23 season, assuring itself of at least a .500 record at the mid-way checkpoint for the second straight year. And with 43 team points entering Monday's game, the Red Wings have amassed their highest point total through the first 41 games of a season since starting the 2015-16 campaign at 21-13-7 overall (49 points).
According to Lalonde, the second half of the season is an opportunity for his club to "take a step in our maturity."
"We have to be on all the time," Lalonde said. "Our work ethic and compete have to be high and elite to give ourselves a chance. The good thing is, we've done that. There's times we've been rewarded for that."

The Avs were winless in seven of their previous eight games prior to blanking the Ottawa Senators, 7-0, on Saturday. Mikko Rantanen paces the club with 53 points on 29 goals, while Nathan MacKinnon (11-32-43) has seven points in his past five games. Alexandar Georgiev has drawn 30 starts in goal for Colorado this season, and has a 2.75 goals-against average with a .914 save percentage.
Monday's game is the first of two matchups between the Red Wings and Avalanche this season. Detroit will host Colorado at Little Caesars Arena on March 18.