Erik Johnson, his two-game suspension over, returns to the Avalanche lineup Saturday in Arizona.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
The Avalanche went 1-0-1 in Johnson's absence and are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Los Angeles on Thursday. He was suspended for boarding Tampa Bay forward Vladislav Namestnikov on Dec. 16.
“Boys have played good, really good,… Johnson told the Denver Post. "There’s nothing worse than being out of the lineup and seeing the team struggle, so it was good to see them be so successful. It makes it soften the blow a little bit.
"It still stinks not playing, but the guys played great and I’m excited to get back in the lineup. I’ll just jump back in and play the way I’ve been playing and hopefully we’ll keep going the right way. It’s pretty sound hockey we’re playing right now.…
The Avalanche (16-15-3) are 2-1-1 in the past four games and 4-2-1 in seven. They'll fly home Saturday night for the Christmas break and resume the schedule Wednesday against the Coyotes at the Pepsi Center to open a six-game homestand.
Arizona (8-24-5) has the worst record in the NHL but pulled off a 3-2 overtime win against Washington on Friday to end a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1).
The Avalanche didn't have a morning skate, but they will probably return to an 11-forward, seven-defenseman lineup with the return of Johnson, which make Gabriel Bourque and Nail Yakupov likely scratches.
The expected lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Sven Andrighetto -- J.T. Compher -- Colin Wilson Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau Alexander Kerfoot -- Tyson Jost
DEFENSE Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson Patrik Nemeth -- Tyson Barrie Anton Lindholm -- Mark Barberio Samuel Girard
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Jonathan Bernier