Detroit @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 5, 2019 ) Detroit 3, Colorado 4

The Colorado Avalanche put forth an impressive performance against one of the best teams in the NHL in their last outing. The Avalanche will need to remain focused on Monday afternoon when they host the Detroit Red Wings, who have the fewest points in the league.

"Everybody's playing their game and I think we're playing confident as a team right now. It's something we have to continue," said Cale Makar, who set a franchise record for goals by a rookie defenseman in Saturday's 5-3 victory over reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis. The 21-year-old, who has 11 goals this season, has scored in back-to-back games to boost his point total to six (three goals, three assists) in eight games this month. While the Avalanche are ascending, the reeling Red Wings are mired in a losing streak of at least four games for the fifth time this season following Saturday's 4-1 setback to Florida. "We're not going to limp through and just kind of play these games," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told reporters. "We're gonna fight like crazy to win every night and fight like crazy to get better every day."

TIME: 3 p.m. ET. TV: NHL Network, FS Detroit, Altitude

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (12-33-4): Dylan Larkin scored the 100th goal of his young career on Saturday, however the 23-year-old center wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood after his team sustained yet another loss. "It's a dream to score a goal in the NHL and I'm just in a good spot there. I've been pretty fortunate to play with good players in my career. Hopefully, there's a lot more," Larkin told reporters. "It doesn't feel great right now, but it's good to get, I guess." Jimmy Howard likely can echo a similar sentiment given his 0-12-2 record in his past 14 games overall, however the veteran goaltender owns an 8-3-3 mark in 15 career encounters with Colorado.

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (27-15-6): Makar isn't the only defenseman making headlines in Colorado, as Samuel Girard set up Nathan MacKinnon's goal early in the first period Saturday for his 12th assist in his last nine games. As for MacKinnon, the former top overall pick has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his last nine contests to reach the 70-point plateau. MacKinnon, who leads the team in goals (28) and assists (42), collected two of each in two Colorado wins over Detroit last season - including the overtime tally in a 4-3 victory on March 5, 2019.

OVERTIME

1. Colorado has outscored the opposition 16-7 en route to winning all three of its matinee games this season.

2. Per Blashill, Detroit C Valtteri Filppula is expected to play in the afternoon tilt despite leaving Saturday's game in the first period with a lower-body injury.

3. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has three goals and an assist in his last four games.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 5, Red Wings 2