Avalanche take on the Sharks on 4-game skid

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San Jose Sharks (21-23-4, sixth in the Pacific Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (25-15-6, third in the Central Division)

Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Colorado is looking to break its four-game losing streak with a victory over San Jose.

The Avalanche are 14-11-3 in Western Conference games. Colorado is fourth in the NHL averaging 5.9 assists per game, led by Nathan MacKinnon with 0.9.

The Sharks are 13-14-1 in conference matchups. San Jose averages 10.5 penalty minutes per game, the third-most in the NHL. Evander Kane leads the team serving 93 total minutes.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 68 points, scoring 27 goals and collecting 41 assists. Samuel Girard has recorded 12 assists over the last 10 games for Colorado.

Erik Karlsson leads the Sharks with 30 total assists and has recorded 35 points. Kane has five goals and four assists over the last 10 games for San Jose.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sharks: 5-3-2, averaging 2.8 goals, five assists, 2.4 penalties and 5.4 penalty minutes while allowing 2.3 goals per game with a .924 save percentage.

Avalanche: 3-4-3, averaging 3.7 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.2 penalties and 8.9 penalty minutes while giving up 3.2 goals per game with a .895 save percentage.

INJURIES: Avalanche: Joonas Donskoi: day to day (concussion).

Sharks: Brent Burns: day to day (upper body), Logan Couture: out (upper-body).