The Colorado Avalanche (21-15-0) are at home for their third and final meeting against the struggling Seattle Kraken (16-12-6). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. MT.

READ MORE: Mackenzie Blackwood signs five-year contract extension with the Avalanche

Colorado is on a three-game winning streak and will play its third and final game against Utah this season. The Avs won the first game 5-1 at the Delta Center. The favor was returned by the away team at the Ball Arena, where Andre Tourigney’s club won 4-1 just two weeks ago.

The Avs’ defense will be strengthened as they welcome Josh Manson back into the lineup. Manson hasn’t played since Nov. 29 after suffering an upper-body injury following a collision with the end boards. Colorado is 8-4-0 in the 12 games since.

Mackenzie Blackwood is expected to get the goal for the Avs as he was the first goalie to leave the ice. Blackwood signed a five-year contract extension earlier Friday that ties him to Colorado’s core through the 2029-30 season. The team’s new longtime starting goalkeeper is 3-1-0 in four starts and has conceded just two goals in each game. Blackwood started Colorado’s last game on Dec. 22, where he took just 19 shots in the Avalanche’s 5-2 win.

Utah has a 6-2-2 record in its last 10 games and enters the match just four points behind the Avalanche with two games remaining. However, their record is not the whole story as they have only won 16 of 34 games. Utah’s points are a bit inflated as they have a whopping six overtime losses.

Karel Vejmelka was a pleasant surprise for the newly relocated franchise. After a great year for Connor Ingram in Arizona, it’s been all Vejmelka this year and he’ll start again for Utah. Vejmelka is 8-8-2 but has the best save percentage of his career at .917. Ingram is 6-4-3 with a brutal .871 save percentage.

Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley all have at least 30 points, while new top defenseman Mikhail Sergachev has 26 points in 34 games.

READ MORE: Avalanche need a win against Winnipeg Jets on New Year’s Eve

Season series

• October 24 at Utah Hockey Club (W, 5-1)
• December 12 vs. Utah Hockey Club (L, 4-1)
• Dec. 27 at the Utah Hockey Club

Avalanche injuries

• Oliver Kylington (upper body, week by week)
• Miles Wood (upper body, LTIR)
• Jonathan Drouin (upper body, week by week)
• Gabriel Landeskog (knee, no schedule)

READ MORE:

Projected avalanche lines (subject to change)

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Casey Mittelstadt – Mikko Rantanen
Joel Kiviranta – Parker Kelly – Logan O’Connor
Jere Innala – Ivan Ivan – Chris Wagner

Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard-Josh Manson
Calvin de Haan – Sam Malinski

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Planned starters (subject to change)

• Expected: Mackenzie Blackwood (COL)
• Confirmed: Karel Vejmelka (UTA)

Upcoming milestones

• Mikko Rantanen – needs 2 PPG for 100
• Nathan MacKinnon – needs 4 PPG for 100
• Cale Makar – needs 3 goals for 100
• Logan O’Connor – needs 1 game for 300, 9 points for 100
• Devon Toews – needs 6 assists for 200
• Casey Mittelstadt – needs 7 games for 400

Here’s how to watch

• TV: ESPN 2
• Radio: 92.5 FM