Colorado @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 16, 2019 ) Colorado 2, Ottawa 5

The Colorado Avalanche are striving to be slump-proof as they try for their fifth victory in six games Thursday against the host Ottawa Senators. Colorado - third in the Central Division and well clear for a postseason spot - won its last three games prior to the All-Star break before losing at Philadelphia 6-3 on Saturday, but bounced back strong with a 6-1 rout at Buffalo on Tuesday.

"Our goal is not to lose two in a row here down the stretch and we had a tough loss the other night in Philly. So to be able to respond to that tonight, do a couple things better than we did in Philly, was important,'' Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the Denver Post. Secondary scoring will be a key to Colorado's success and the line of Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin stepped up against Buffalo with a goal apiece and a combined nine points. "We have the keys that we need to have a successful line,'' Burakovsky told reporters. "We've got (Valeri), he's like a horse out there, it's tough to get the puck from him. ... Obviously, (Nazem) making all the plays, so good with the puck and finding open lanes and just give it to us. For me, I'm just trying to give some speed to the line and try to make plays. ..." Ottawa has lost three straight (0-1-2) after a 3-2 shootout loss to Anaheim on Tuesday and has the fourth-fewest points in the league after losing 13 of its last 15 games (2-6-7).

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Altitude, TSN5, RDS2

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (29-16-6): Burakovsky recorded a goal and three assists Tuesday for his first career four-point game and has a career-high 39 points, surpassing the 38 he had with Washington in 2015-16. Kadri has 18 goals and 34 points after registering three goals and three assists in his last three contests. Cale Makar boasts 38 points - one fewer than fellow defenseman Quinn Hughes of Vancouver for the lead among league rookies in what is shaping up to be a two-horse Calder Trophy race.

ABOUT THE SENATORS (18-24-11): Drake Batherson has played every game since Jan. 4 after he was recalled from AHL Belleville and is starting to put it together with five of his seven points this season in the last five games. "I just think it's just confidence over time,'' coach D.J. Smith told reporters. "... And he worked at it. He came back, he looks a little quicker, his confidence is there. You see, he can make plays at our level, and he continues to get better." Vladislav Namestnikov (11 goals, 22 points) left Tuesday's game with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot and is questionable to play although X-rays were negative, according to Smith.

OVERTIME

1. Colorado D Ryan Graves was a plus-4 on Tuesday and leads the NHL at plus-36.

2. Ottawa is 9-for-22 with the man advantage in the last seven games, raising its power-play success rate to 15.2 percent.

3. The clubs split a pair of meetings last season as each won by three goals at home with Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon recording two goals and three assists in the two games.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 3, Senators 2