The Avalanche's new-look defense makes its debut Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils at the Pepsi Center.
Here are the GAME NOTES.
Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras, both 20, will be paired with Francois Beauchemin and Zach Redmond, respectively, after being recalled Wednesday from San Antonio.
The Avalanche also will have a change in goal, with Calvin Pickard making his first home start of the season. Semyon Varlamov started the previous seven games.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Zadorov, who was acquired from Buffalo in the June 26 trade that included Ryan O'Reilly, had eight goals and 10 assists in 28 games with San Antonio after he was assigned there Nov. 7. He began the season with the Avalanche and had two assists in 11 games.
"It was a great experience, lots of ice time," Zadorov said of his AHL stint. "I know I got more comfortable working on other things they want to see and I'm just happy to be back. The thing I learned is if you're in this league, you have to be focused every game and play your best every game to stay here for a long time."
Bigras, who is 6-1, 190, will make his NHL debut. He was Colorado's second-round pick (No. 32) in the 2013 NHL draft. He had six goals and 13 assists in 37 games with the Rampage.
"I didn't know what to think or what to do at first," he said of his immediate reaction after being promoted. "I'm just ecstatic to live out my childhood dream to get an opportunity to play. I called my parents right away and told them the good news. Obviously my goal was to make it up eventually at some point in the season. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity here.
"It's always a learning experience (in the AHL). It's the first year of my pro life, not having a billet, cooking by myself, stuff like that. So I learned some stuff in the kitchen and on the ice. It's just little details and habits of the game that pros do so well and that's what I've been trying to define, the details of my game."
Coach Patrick Roy said Wednesday he was looking for Bigras and Zadorov to bring a "spark" to the Avalanche, who have been outscored 10-3 in a two-game losing streak.
"I said to them it's their chance to push some guys out of the lineup and I want some consistency from them," Roy said after the morning skate Thursday. "We're a team that wants to make the playoffs and they have an opportunity to show what they can do."
Roy on Zadorov: "He's a big man, I want him to be intense on every shift. I don't want him to be casual out there. When he makes his pass, have knees bent, be ready to follow the play. He has the tendency to, when he makes his pass, stand up tall and look at what's going on. I want him to stay involved. When he does that, I think he can compete against the top line. He can do a good job there"
Roy on Bigras: "It's his first game. He's smart out there, positioning himself well, and we just want to see him doing the same thing."
Roy said he isn't concerned about putting two 20-year-old defensemen in the lineup when the Avalanche is in a race for a playoff spot.
"It's a young league," he said. "Look around the league, there's a lot of young players in this league. They're part of our future and we really feel it's a good opportunity for us as an organization -- for them as younger players -- to break the ice. I had a chance to play as a 20-year-old (with Montreal) and why not give a chance to some guys to play as 20-year-olds?"
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Roy said the Avalanche discussed first-round pick Mikko Rantanen, a 6-4 power forward, during their talks after Tuesday's 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay. Roy said Rantanen is sidelined with a minor hand injury.
"There's some (Avalanche) forwards that we're not necessarily happy with," he said. "It was part of our conversation. We didn't just talk about our 'D,' we talked about the entire team."
Rantanen was captain for Finland, which won the gold medal in the World Junior Championships in Helsinki. He didn't have a point in six games with the Avalanche before he was sent to San Antonio on Oct. 22. He has 10 goals and 22 assists in 26 games with the Rampage.
"We'll make decisions down the road," Roy said. "Obviously, he's coming from a big event in his hometown. We'll see how it goes now. First of all, he just needs to (recover from his hand injury). We'll let him play a few games just to get his timing back and we'll re-evaluate the situation after."
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Defenseman Nate Guenin cleared waivers, but he's still listed on the Avalanche roster ... Roy is making one change among the forwards, replacing Mikhail Grigorenko with Chris Wagner on a line with Andreas Martinsen and Jarome Iginla. Wagner has been a healthy scratch for 14 consecutive games.
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The Devils, who have lost four of their past five games, are shorthanded on the forward lines because of injuries and a four-game suspension to Bobby Farnham for his hit against St. Louis forward Dmitrij Jaskin on Tuesday. The Devils are down to 11 healthy forwards and will dress seven defensemen Thursday. Cory Schneider will be in goal. Here's the Avalanche lineup: FORWARDS Alex Tanguay - Nathan MacKinnon - Matt Duchene Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau Andreas Martinsen - Chris Wagner - Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Jack Skille
DEFENSE Francois Beauchemin - Nikita Zadorov Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie Zach Redmond - Chris Bigras
GOALIES Calvin Pickard Semyon Varlamov