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The Avalanche will be without center Paul Stastny for tonight's game in Chicago. He sustained a leg injury in Saturday's 4-2 win in Minnesota, didn't practice Monday and didn't take part in this morning's skate. The team was off Sunday.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy told Brian Hedger, my Chicago-based colleague at NHL.com, that Stastny is "day to day," and that he'll suit up seven defensemen.

Defenseman Nick Holden will see some time at left wing on the fourth line, something he did earlier this season. Congratulations are in order, by the, way for Holden and his wife Ang, who gave birth over the weekend to the couple's second son, Carter Axel Holden. They have a two-year-old named Parker.

Holden rejoined the team after missing the game in Minnesota to be present for the birth.

Sami Aittokallio will back up Semyon Varlamov in goal. Aittokallio was summoned from the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters because Jean-Sebastien Giguere has been experiencing back spasms.

Aittokallio, 21, has played in 19 games with the Monsters this season and has a 8-8-1 record with one shutout, a 2.83 goals-against average and .901 save percentage.

Defenseman Tyson Barrie will play tonight after sitting out Saturday's game with the shoulder injury he sustained against the New York Islanders on Friday. Defenseman Karl Stollery, who made his NHL debut against the Wild and played 10:55, has been sent back to Lake Erie.

Defenseman Nate Guenin (ankle) and forward David Van Der Gulik (head injury) are still sidelined. Van Der Gulik is on injured reserve.

The Avalanche is 5-1-2 in the past eight games and Varlamov has gone 8-0-5 in his past 14 games (13 starts) with a 2.17 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. He's 4-3-0 in his career against the Blackhawks with one shutout, a 2.30 average and .929 save percentage.

The Avalanche can't play any worse than in the last visit to the United Center, a 7-2 loss on Dec. 27. Giguere gave up all seven goals on 24 shots in that game. Varlamov played the third period and stopped all 13 shots he faced.

Center Matt Duchene, who has eight assists but no goals in the past 11 games, will anchor a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O'Reilly. John Mitchell will replace Stastny on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Jamie McGinn.

The Blackhawks have gone 7-1-5 in their past 13 games and are 16-3-6 at home.
Goalie Corey Crawford will start in goal for Chicago. He has a surprisingly poor record against the Avalanche in his career: 2-5-1 record, one shutout, 3.49 goals-against average and .865 save percentage.

The Avalanche returns home for one game, Thursday against New Jersey, before heading back on the road for a game in Nashville on Saturday.

The Avalanche lineup for tonight:

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

DEFENSE
Jan Hejda -- Erik Johnson
Andre Benoit -- Cory Sarich
Ryan Wilson -- Tyson Barrie

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Sami Aittokallio

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