HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Tyson Jost will join the Avalanche’s top line against Los Angeles on Monday at the Pepsi Center, and Logan O’Connor will make his NHL debut.
The GAME NOTES.
Semyon Varlamov will start for the Avalanche, who have lost four games in a row (0-3-1) and are 2-6-2 in the past 10 games. They’ve scored two goals or fewer in six of the past 10.
Jost, who has gone 15 games without a goal, will replace Gabriel Landeskog on the line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Landeskog will be back with Alexander Kerfoot and J.T. Compher on the second line.
Coach Jared Bednar said Monday morning that he’s trying to get the second line going, but he’s also obviously attempting to get Jost out of his slump and to regain his confidence.
Jost practiced with MacKinnon and Rantanen on Sunday.
“Trying to jump start the bottom set of lines,… Bednar said. “We have the checking line and the (Carl) Soderberg line. We have different options, especially at home, where I think we can take care of our matchups. It’s more just trying to see if we can spark a few guys.
“You’re going to see Landeskog, MacKinnon and Rantanen together tonight for sure, there’s no question. But we’ve seen just little glimpses that some other guys have done well on those lines. I thought Landy did a real nice job helping Kerfoot and Compher (on Saturday). They were excited to play with him, and that was our best line the other night.
“Having seen that and speaking with MacK and Mikko and Josty, I think that they feel that they can be better than they were the other night. If they do that, and we get the same sort of production and scoring chances out of our second line, then I like where we’re headed.…
O’Connor, 22, was recalled from the AHL Colorado Eagles, where he had nine goals and seven assists in 30 games. He had three shorthanded goals, tied for first in the AHL.
A 6-foot, 175-pound forward, O’Connor signed with the Avalanche as a free agent on July 23 after playing three years at the University of Denver. He’ll play on the fourth line with Gabriel Bourque and Sheldon Dries. Sven Andrighetto will be a healthy scratch.
"He is quick and he is tenacious,… Bednar said of O'Connor. “He has got a great motor and that is what we are seeing from him up the road in Loveland. I have gone to see him live a couple games, (general manager Joe Sakic) and his staff have been up there, and he is an impact player down there.
"Most of his chances and scoring opportunities for himself and his linemates are created from his tenacity and his relentlessness on the puck. We need a little bit of that in our lineup right now, that is why we are bringing him here. We like what we have seen."
The lineup:
Tyson Jost -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Gabriel Landeskog -- Alexander Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert Gabriel Bourque – Sheldon Dries -- Logan O’Connor
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie Ryan Graves -- Patrik Nemeth
Semyon Varlamov Philipp Grubauer