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Avalanche forward Cody McLeod is movin' on up in the hockey world for the second time this season.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound left wing will start Friday night's game in Minnesota on a line with center Matt Duchene and right wing Ryan O'Reilly, a reward for his hard work and willingness to go to the front of the net.

"We've had a couple injuries and I've moved up and I'm trying to make the most of it when I'm out there," said McLeod, who has two goals, three assists and a plus-6 plus/minus rating in 18 games. "When you get injuries you get more opportunities and you want to show the coaches that you can play up there when need be. I just go to the front of the net. That's where I usually get my goals. Just go to the hard areas and nine times out of 10 that's where you score goals, in front of the net."

McLeod had eight goals in 48 games last season, five of which came in the final seven games when he was given more ice time and more skilled linemates than usual because of injuries. He scored a career-high 15 goals in 2008-09, his first full season in the NHL.

"It definitely feels good to contribute," said McLeod, who moved from the fourth line to the third unit a week ago when coach Patrick Roy made changes because of injuries to Duchene and Alex Tanguay. "You like to show people that you can play, too, instead of always dropping the gloves or whatever. Patty's also given me the opportunity to kill penalties, which is awesome, and I want to make sure I do a good job doing that."

Roy also is sending a message to the rest of the team by promoting McLeod and 6-6, 225-pound Patrick Bordeleau, who is moving to the third line with John Mitchell and Max Talbot, and by demoting underachieving Jamie McGinn to the fourth line with Marc-Andre Cliche and Brad Malone.

McGinn's only goal in the past 15 games came last Saturday when the rebound of his shot bounced off Los Angeles' Jarret Stoll into the net for a 1-0 win. After scoring eight goals in 17 games following his February 2012 acquisition from San Jose, McGinn has played in 67 games and scored 15 goals. He had 11 goals in 47 games last season and has four goals in 20 games this year.

Bordeleau has already set a career high for goals with three in 23 games. He had two goals in 46 games last season, his first in the NHL. Bordeleau won't win any speed skating contests, but he's a good skater for his size and will go into the "dirty" areas, something McGinn needs to do in order to get back into Roy's good graces.

"That's where the goals are scored," said Bordeleau, who had the only goal Wednesday in the Avalanche's 4-1 loss to St. Louis. "It's all rebounds and scrums, so you have to stop there and play in front of the net."

Center Paul Stastny will miss his second game in a row because of back spasms. The Avalanche is hopeful he'll be available for Saturday's rematch with the Wild at the Pepsi Center.

The Avalanche is in third place in the Central Division -- the top three teams in each division are guaranteed playoff berths -- with a 17-6-0 record and 34 points in 23 games. The Wild is fourth with a 15-7-4 record and 34 points in 26 games.

The Avalanche needs to start getting some production from a power play that has gone 2-for-14 in the past five games. Duchene called it "brutal" after it went 0-for-4 Wednesday.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere will start in goal for the first time since Nov. 14, when he allowed five goals on 23 shots in the Avalanche's 7-3 loss in St. Louis. He has a 5-0-0 record, and no goalie in franchise history has started a season with six consecutive wins.

The Wild has lost two games in a row and could be without center Zach Parise, who missed Wednesday's game against Phoenix because of a bruised foot.

How the Avalanche lineup will look against the Wild:

FORWARDS

Cody McLeod-- Matt Duchene -- Ryan O'Reilly
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- PA Parenteau
Patrick Bordeleau -- John Mitchell -- Max Talbot
Brad Malone -- Marc-Andre Cliche -- Jamie McGinn

DEFENSE
Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson
Andre Benoit -- Cory Sarich
Tyson Barrie -- Nate Guenin

GOALIES
Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Semyon Varlamov

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