Defenseman Ryan Wilson will play his second consecutive game tonight when the Avalanche faces Winnipeg at the Pepsi Center to kick off a seven-game homestand.
Wilson, who missed 22 games with a back injury, returned to the lineup in Friday's 7-2 loss in Chicago and had an even plus/minus rating in 21:25 of ice time. He'll be paired again with Tyson Barrie, who was plus-1 in 22:02 of playing time.
Cory Sarich will play after being a healthy scratch Friday. He'll replace Nate Guenin. Nick Holden and Brad Malone are the other healthy scratches.
"Ryan needs to play some games," coach Patrick Roy said this morning. "I thought he did a lot of good things in the last game in Chicago. We want to see more of him. I think a guy who missed 22 games and barely played last year (because of injuries), we're going to have to be patient with him and give him a chance to perform. I think the position he's in, playing on the third pairing, is a perfect fit."
The Avalanche won the two previous games against the Jets after falling behind in both. The Avalanche posted a 3-2 home win Oct. 27 and a 4-3 shootout win Dec. 12 in Winnipeg. The Jets defeated Minnesota 6-4 on Friday and will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 25-27 against New Jersey and the New York Islanders.
"The Jets played really well the last time they were here and it was a great game when we played there," Roy said. "We're going to have a good challenge in front of us tonight. It would certainly be nice to start the homestand with a win, but we're facing a good team, a team that certainly is looking to win hockey games. Winning their last game probably brought a lot of confidence to them."
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avalanche. He was in net for both previous meetings this season and has gone 6-3-0 in his career against the Jets with a 2.64 goals-against average and .907 save percentage. Varlamov is 3-0-3 in his past seven appearances this year with a 2.10 GAG and .938 save percentage. He stopped all 13 shots he faced Friday after relieving Jean-Sebastien Giguere to begin the third period.
Al Montoya will start for the Jets. He made 33 saves at the Pepsi Center in October and is 1-1-1 in his career against the Avalanche with a shutout, a 2.32 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. Montoya has played really well this year with a 6-2-1 record, one shutout, a 2.14 GAG and .923 save percentage.
Defensemen Zach Bogosian (illness) and Mark Stuart (groin injury) are expected to play against the Avalanche after sitting out Friday's game.
The Jets didn't have a morning skate because their flight from Winnipeg was delayed Saturday and they didn't arrive in Denver until 1 a.m. Mountain time Sunday.
Here's the Avalanche lineup for tonight:
FORWARDS Ryan O'Reilly -- Matt Duchene -- Nathan MacKinnon Gabriel Landeskog -- Paul Stastny -- PA Parenteau Jamie McGinn -- John Mitchell -- Max Talbot Cody McLeod -- Marc-Andre Cliche -- Patrick Bordeleau
DEFENSE Erik Johnson -- Jan Hejda Andre Benoit -- Cory Sarich Ryan Wilson -- Tyson Barrie
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Jean-Sebastien Giguere