Nail Yakupov will replace Sven Andrighetto on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen when the Avalanche play New Jersey on Friday at the Pepsi Center.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
Andrighetto, who has gone six games without a point, had one shot on goal in 15:34 Wednesday as a replacement for suspended Gabriel Landeskog in the Avalanche's 3-2 overtime win against Winnipeg. He goes back to the fourth line with Dominic Toninato and Gabriel Bourque.
"We had those guys together at the start of the year and we just didn't see the chemistry that we saw last year," coach Jared Bednar said after the morning skate. "When they did have it, they weren't capitalizing on their chances. We gave Andrighetto a chance the other night trying to spark him."
So Yakupov gets a chance against the Devils, moving from right wing on the fourth line to the left side with MacKinnon and Rantanen.
Yakupov has gone three games without a point, but his ice time has been limited; he played 7:49 against the Jets.
"Yak's a guy, I've liked the way he's played, but some of his ice time has gone away because of the makeup of our lines," Bednar said. "There's an opportunity here for the next three games, so Id like to check out and see how he's going to do up there. We're going to give it a try and see how it goes."
Defensemen Patrick Nemeth (back) skated for the second day in a row and could be cleared for contact some time next week. He'll miss his 10th game.
Forward Colin Wilson (lower body) also skated and will miss his second consecutive game.
MacKinnon was named the NHL's first star for November. He had 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 12 games. The Avalanche went 6-4-2 in the month.
The lineup:
FORWARDS Nail Yakupov -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen Tyson Jost -- Alexander Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau Sven Andrighetto -- Dominic Toninato --Gabriel Bourque
DEFENSE Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson Nikita Zadorov -- Mark Barberio Anton Lindholm -- Tyson Barrie
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Jonathan Bernier