Kyle Palmieri, Will Butcher, Keith Kinkaid, Marcus Johansson and the New Jersey Devils will aim to win their fifth straight game to open the 2018-19 season when they host Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.
Butcher will play after leaving with an injury during Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Dallas Stars. Despite some soreness, Butcher is healthy enough to stay in a defensive lineup that has allowed four total goals all season.
Join NJ.com's live chat in the comment section, and follow along with live updates in the box below.
Here is the AP recap of the game:
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Gabriel Landeskog broke a tie with 3:22 left with his third goal of the game, helping Colorado beat New Jersey.
Landeskog one-timed Mikko Rantanen's pass from behind the net to complete his third career hat trick. He scored earlier in the third period on a deflection of a shot by Ian Cole.
Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots for his first victory of the season.
Rantanen scored on an empty-netter with 12 seconds left and added three assists, giving him an NHL-leading 11 this season. Sven Andrighetto also scored for Colorado.
The Devils lost for the first time after opening the season with four straight victories. Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists, and Nico Hischier and Brian Boyle also scored.
Here is everything you need to know about the home game:
What: New Jersey Devils (4-0-0) vs. Colorado Avalanche (3-1-2)
When: 7 p.m. EST, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
TV: MSG+
Live stream: MSG Go
More to know: Drew Stafford will play in place of John Quenneville on the second line, making it the first lineup change for the Devils through five games.
"He's a big, strong guy. He's real strong on the puck. He's real good in the offensive zone," Hynes said. "He has the ability to score. He's had some really good practices and a good training camp. He's playing with more pace that we'd like to see him be able to play with."
As for Quenneville, Hynes didn't make the move for any negative play on the rookie forward's part. It came down to a decision to reward Stafford's work while looking for more production.
"Johnny's done a good job, and he's in one of these situations where he's a young guy trying to earn a consistent spot in the lineup," Hynes said. "We gave him four games and he's done a good job. He hasn't done anything great, he hasn't done anything bad. But when you're looking at it, you want a little bit more impact."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.