Captain Gabriel Landeskog will be in the lineup Tuesday when the Avalanche play Columbus to open a two-game road trip.
Landeskog didn’t practice Monday because of a lower-body injury, but he took part in the morning skate Tuesday and will be at his usual spot at left wing on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer will make his Avalanche debut, while forward Matt Calvert and defenseman Ian Cole will play against their former Blue Jackets teammates after signing with Colorado as free agents on July 1.
Coach Jared Bednar told reporters he was leaning toward keeping Sheldon Dries in the lineup rather than use Vladislav Kamenev, who was recalled over the weekend from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
The GAME NOTES.
"We've won two games, the lineup has been good, Dries has done a nice job in a limited amount of minutes," Bednar said. "I would like to keep it the same here and move on from there."
Defenseman Mark Barberio will stay in the lineup. Patrik Nemeth will miss his second game in a row, though he’s been cleared to play after sitting Saturday because of an upper-body injury. He took part in the morning skate.
Bednar said Nemeth would take part in a full practice Wednesday and be available for Thursday’s game in Buffalo if he feels ready.
Calvert, who played his eight previous NHL seasons with the Blue Jackets, had dinner with some former teammates Monday night.
“Talked about old times, new times, what they’re going through this year,… he said. “It’s a great experience and I enjoy it.…
Cole played the final 20 regular-season games with Columbus and all six playoff games after being acquired from Pittsburgh, where he twice won the Stanley Cup.
The expected lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Alexander Kerfoot -- Tyson Jost -- Colin Wilson Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg – Gabriel Bourque Sheldon Dries -- J.T. Compher – Matt Calvert
DEFENSE Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ian Cole – Tyson Barrie Nikita Zadorov – Mark Barberio
GOALIES Philipp Grubauer Semyon Varlamov