Hunter Miska will start in goal Tuesday when the Avalanche play the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena.
Coach Jared Bednar wants to give Philipp Grubauer a rest; he’s started 22 of the first 26 games. He was given the morning off.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
“Just trying to give him as much rest as we can between his stint of games,… Bednar said. “Grubi will back up, but he’s been playing a lot of hockey and doesn’t need to go on the ice for some of these skates.…
Miska last played on March 6 and allowed five goals on 27 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ducks. He’s gone 1-1-2 with a 3.50 goals-against average and .865 save percentage.
“It’s the same with Grubi, we need to keep pucks to the outside and let him see everything that we can,… defenseman Devon Toews said. “It’s pretty similar going from goalie to goalie; we’re confident in both of them right now, so we’re expecting a good night out of him.…
Defensemen Bowen Byram and Cale Makar skated while wearing regular practice jerseys, as did forward J.T. Compher, but they won’t play against the Ducks. They are recovering from upper-body injuries.
Bednar said Byram and Compher likely will play Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, but he didn’t sound like Makar will.
“Compher and Byram are basically really close now,… he said. “They’ll clear medically and be available to help us for next game. Makar’s making progress, so he’s getting close, but I don’t necessarily know for a timeline on his return.…
Defenseman Dennis Gilbert was assigned to the Colorado Eagles.
The lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Brandon Saad -- Nazem Kadri -- Andre Burakovsky Valeri Nichushkin -- Tyson Jost -- Joonas Donskoi Matt Calvert -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Logan O’Connor
DEFENSE Ryan Graves -- Devon Toews Jacob MacDonald -- Samuel Girard Dan Renouf -- Greg Pateryn
GOALIES Hunter Miska Philipp Grubauer