Eurolanche

Colorado fell to the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, dropping its home record to 9-6-1. The Penguins have lost three out of their last five but are coming off a 4-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.

Last Time Out

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado fell just short of a comeback against Tampa on Saturday, falling 6-5 after the matchup began with a scoreless first period. The Lightning surged with four goals in the second and had a 5-1 lead at the beginning of the third frame. Gabriel Landeskog scored three times, his second hat trick of the season, and Nathan MacKinnon lit the lamp to pull the Avalanche within one before Tampa Bay rookie D-man Mikhail Sergachev halted the momentum with another goal for the Lightning. The Avs brought the score to within one with a little under six minutes to play on another tally by MacKinnon, who has three straight multi-goal games at home.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins defeated the Coyotes 4-2 in Arizona on Saturday after having lost three in a row. The Pens and Coyotes would stay scoreless until roughly five minutes remained in the second period, when Pittsburgh scored twice before the second intermission. The Coyotes came back to tie the game before Penguins defenseman Olli Maata tallied the go-ahead goal with a slap shot from the point with 15 seconds remaining. Sidney Crosby added an empty-net goal seconds later to seal the deal.

Last Time They Met

One week ago, the Avalanche continued a East Coast road swing with a 2-1 victory in the Steel City. The first two periods of the matchup were dominated by solid goaltending. Both Colorado's Jonathan Bernier and Pittsburgh's Tristan Jarry posted shutouts through the first two periods before defenseman Mark Barberio broke the tie six minutes into the third with his second goal of the season. Blake Comeau added his seventh of the season, an empty-net tally, to extend the Avalanche's lead to two with less than 90 seconds remaining. Pens winger Phil Kessel ruined Bernier's shutout effort when he netted his team-leading 15th goal of the season with 12 seconds left in the game.

What to Watch

Power Play

With an abundance of offensive weapons, it's no surprise that the Pittsburgh Penguins possess a top-five power-play unit. The No. 4 ranked Penguins power play cashes in on roughly 25 percent of its chances (24.8). With the Avalanche having already given up 314 penalty minutes this year, ninth most in the league, Colorado will have to be sure that its 16th-ranked penalty kill is in top form when the Penguins come to town.

Closing Out Strong

With a home record of 9-6-1, Colorado is a much stronger team on familiar ice than on the road (6-9-1) and will look to close out this homestand with a win before hitting the West Coast for the next two games. The Avs have a good opportunity to do so against a Penguins team that has struggled away from Pittsburgh, holding a record of 7-9-2 on the road.

Players to Watch

Colorado: Left Wing Gabriel Landeskog

Landeskog recorded his second hat trick of the season and added two assists for a career-best five-point game. He'll look to take that momentum with him against the Penguins, a team he has registered 9 points against (five goals, four assists) in 10 contests.

Pittsburgh: Right Wing Phil Kessel

Phil Kessel, the Penguins points leader (38), has been averaging over a point per game thus far this season (1.12). Kessel has points in 10 of his last 12 outings and has seven goals and seven assists over that span, including the Penguins' lone marker against the Avs last Monday in Pittsburgh.

The Details

Monday's game is slated for 7 p.m. and can be watched live on Altitude TV. The radio broadcast can be heard on 92.5 The Wolf or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.

-- by Scott MacDonald for avalanche.nhl.com --