The Avalanche are coming into this game with a 10-9-0 record this season and they have been playing well in their recent games. They were awful to start the season with their defense allowing plenty of goals, but they are coming off of a 3-2 win on the road in their last game against the Flyers and they have won 4 of their last 5 games as well. Their defense has been great in these games as well, allowing 2 goals or less in 3 of their last 4 games, and their only loss in their last 5 games actually came against the Capitals at home 5-2. They have been playing very well recently though and will be hungry to get their revenge for that loss. They started their road trip with a win in Philadelphia, and now they are catching the Capitals in a bad spot without Ovechkin in the lineup. They are going up against a Capitals team that is 13-4-1 this season and they have also been playing very well in their recent games. They have won their last 3 straight games, but this streak started with a road win against the Avalanche and the Avs would love to end that with the Caps missing their best player here. This is also a bad spot for the Capitals as it is their 1st game back at home after a 3 game road trip in the mountains, and their last game of that trip was Monday night in Utah. The Caps have also played worse at home in recent games as they have lost their last 2 straight there, allowing 4 goals in each of those. This is a good spot for the Avalanche to get their revenge and snap the 3 game win streak of the Caps. The Avalanche will win this game.