CANADIENS VS. AVALANCHE

Here are five things to watch when the Canadiens (17-12-5) play the Colorado Avalanche (18-10-6) Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center (8:30 p.m., SN, SN360, RDS, TSN 690 Radio), writes Stu Cowan.

1 Lineup changes?

Defenceman Victor Mete, who was called up from the AHL’s Laval Rocket after the Canadiens’ 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins Monday night, was paired with Jeff Petry during practice Tuesday, but coach Claude Julien said he had yet to decide on his roster. Julien also juggled his forward lines at practice, moving Paul Byron up to play with Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin, while Andrew Shaw dropped down to play with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Artturi Lehkonen.

2 The goalies

While Julien wouldn’t confirm his lineup, you have to think Carey Price will start against the Avalanche, with Antti Niemi possibly getting the call Thursday night when the Canadiens play the Coyotes in Arizona (9 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). Price has a 13-9-4 record with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage this season, while Niemi is 4-3-1 with a 4.14 GAA and a .876 save percentage. Philipp Grubauer will start in goal for the Avalanche. He has a 7-2-3 record with a 3.22 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

3 The power play

The Canadiens’ power play has been absolutely brutal, going 0-for-25 in the last eight games and 1-for-30 in the last 10 games since captain Shea Weber returned to the lineup. The Canadiens rank 30th in the NHL on the power play with a 12.0 per cent success rate. The Avalanche have the third-best power play at 30.5 per cent. The Canadiens have been much better playing five-on-five, ranking second in the NHL after Monday’s game with 84 goals at even strength.

4 Avalanche warning

Heading into Tuesday’s games, the Avalanche’s Mikko Rantanen was leading the NHL in scoring with 15-41-56 totals and linemate Nathan MacKinnon was second with 21-32-53. Gabriel Landeskog, the third member of the NHL’s most dangerous line, ranked 13th with 22-19-41 totals. Max Domi, who leads the Canadiens in scoring with 14-1933 totals, ranked 42nd through Monday’s games.

5 Long and winding road

This is the first of six straight road games for the Canadiens, who won’t play again at the Bell Centre until Jan. 3 when the Vancouver Canucks are the visitors. Before then, the Canadiens have games in Colorado, Arizona, Las Vegas, Florida, Tampa and Dallas. The Canadiens also had a sixgame road trip over Christmas and New Year last season and finished with a 3-3-0 record. The Canadiens start this trip holding the second wild-card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and have a 7-5-3 road record.