Newly-acquired left wing Matt Nieto will wear No. 83 and skate on a line with Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla when the Avalanche play the New York Islanders on Friday at the Pepsi Center.
Nieto, 24, took part in the morning skate after being claimed Thursday on waivers from San Jose, which went to the Stanley Cup Final last spring and leads the Pacific Division with 48 points, 23 more than the Avalanche, who are last in the 30-team NHL.
“I don’t think this is a bad team,… Nieto said. "There’s a lot of talented guys in this room, a lot of young talent. It’s just a matter of being able to put a couple of wins together. We can definitely do it, just everyone’s got to be on the same page.
"I’m going to try to provide energy, use my legs, play fast, make plays, but also be defensively solid as well and try to be a good (penalty killing) guy.…
Nieto said he was happy to join the Avalanche after playing just 16 games with the Sharks this season, in which he had two assists.
"I wasn't getting much opportunity there, wasn't playing many games," he said. "I could kind of sense something was going to happen, so when it did I wasn't too surprised. Very excited to be here and to start a new chapter."
Nieto, who is from Long Beach, Calif., had 28 goals and 42 assists in 221 games with San Jose over parts of four seasons, with three goals and five assists in 23 playoff games.
“It was a long 24 hours, just waiting," he said of the waiver period. "But I’m really happy that Colorado picked me up. It’s a good opportunity, I couldn’t be more excited. This morning, everyone is really welcoming, really nice to me, helping me out. I’m looking forward to going from here.…
Coach Jared Bednar said he would give Nieto a few games to decide where he will fit in best as he continues to change line combinations in an attempt to generate more offense. The Avalanche are averaging two goals per game, worst in the league.
“To be fair, I’d like to evaluate him here for a couple of games and see where our lines kind of fit,… Bednar said. “Obviously, we’re searching for some lines that produce, not just that line, but all the way around the lineup. We’re trying a couple of different things here tonight and we’ll see how it goes.
"He’s an interesting guy. He’s got some good experience on a winning team. He plays with a lot of energy, he plays with pace and he’s a competitive guy. We need a little bit of all that in our lineup. He’s a good penalty killer as well, so he kind of brings us a lot of things we need.…
Bednar pointed out that the Avalanche have taken 25 penalties in the past five games, all losses. Thirteen of them were in the offensive zone. They allowed seven power-play goals in this stretch.
"Skating, using our legs, taking the extra stride, finishing people off instead of reaching and taking stick penalties ... it's a big thing for us right now," Bednar said. "We showed some of them this morning and talked about some ways to make sure we're curing those problems. It's not one guy, it's spread throughout our lineup.
"We're borderline fragile right now, a little discouraged as a group. We're doing some good things in some games and in other games we don't seem to be as sharp and as crisp."
Goalie Calvin Pickard will make his seventh consecutive start as the Avalanche attempt to end a 10-game home losing streak (0-9-1). Semyon Varlamov took part in the morning skate and will dress as the backup. He hasn't played since Dec. 22 because of a groin injury but worked out on and off the ice during the Avalanche's two-game trip.
Defenseman Francois Beauchemin is ill and will be replaced by Eric Gelinas, who didn't play Wednesday in Calgary because of a lower-body injury. Forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and Andreas Martinsen will be healthy scratches.
The lineup:
FORWARDS Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Blake Comeau -- Matt Duchene -- Rene Bourque Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Jarome Iginla Joe Colborne -- John Mitchell -- Cody McLeod
DEFENSE Fedor Tyutin -- Tyson Barrie Eric Gelinas -- Nikita Zadorov Patrick Wiercioch -- Cody Goloubef
GOALIES Calvin Pickard Semyon Varlamov