The Avalanche visit Vancouver on Friday to open a three-game road trip.
Coach Jared Bednar is benching defenseman Nikita Zadorov in favor of Kevin Connauton, who was recalled from the Eagles with Sheldon Dries when Martin Kaut was sent back.
Zadorov played just 7:58 Wednesday against Anaheim in the 4-3 overtime loss. He was minus-3 and didn’t play in the third period or overtime.
Their seven-game winning streak ended against the Ducks, but they have a nine-game point streak (7-0-2) and have won nine in a row on the road.
The Avalanche are two points behind St. Louis in the race for first in the Central Division and Western Conference. The Blues play in New Jersey.
The Canucks, in the second wild card position in the West, have lost four games in a row but are 20-8-4 at home.
The projected lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Vladislav Namestnikov Matt Nieto -- J.T. Compher -- Joonas Donskoi Valeri Nichushkin -- Tyson Jost -- Sheldon Dries Vladislav Kamenev -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Logan O’Connor
DEFENSE Samuel Girard -- Ryan Graves Ian Cole -- Erik Johnson Kevin Connauton -- Mark Barberio
GOALIES Pavel Francouz Michael Hutchinson