The injury-riddled Avalanche will be severely tested on a five-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Winnipeg.
They’ll be without six regulars, at least from the start, though goalie Philipp Grubauer (lower-body injury) and center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (concussion protocol) are on the trip. Forwards Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Colin Wilson, all out with lower-body injuries, and defenseman Nikita Zadorov (broken jaw) remain in Colorado. Rantanen, who’s missed eight games, skated Monday and Zadorov practiced while wearing a protective shield after having surgery Friday night.
The Avalanche have had to do more line shuffling without Bellemare, who was injured Saturday against Columbus on an elbow to the jaw by Nick Foligno, who was assessed a three-game suspension by NHL Player Safety.
Valeri Nichushkin will move to the second line with Nazem Kadri and J.T. Compher. Tyson Jost will switch from second-line left wing to third-line center with Matt Nieto and Andre Burakovsky.
Jayson Megna, a healthy scratch Saturday following his recall from the Colorado Eagles, will be on the fourth line with Vladislav Kamenev and T.J. Tynan.
Defenseman Kevin Connauton and forward Logan O'Connor hadn’t yet arrived in Winnipeg after being recalled from the Eagles.
Pavel Francouz will make his third start in a row after making 39 saves in the Avalanche’s 4-2 win against Columbus.
The lineup:
FORWARDS Matt Calvert -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Joonas Donskoi Valeri Nichushkin -– Nazem Kadri -- J.T. Compher Matt Nieto -– Tyson Jost – Andre Burakovsky Jayson Megna -- Vladislav Kamenev -- T.J. Tynan
DEFENSE Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar Ian Cole -- Mark Barberio
GOALIES Pavel Francouz Adam Werner