The Avalanche defense should be stronger for tonight's game against Minnesota at the Pepsi Center with the return of Jan Hejda, who missed the past four games with a sprained right knee.
But defenseman Ryan Wilson, who hurt his back Nov. 6 against Nashville, will sit out his 17th consecutive game because coach Patrick Roy said he needs more practice time. Roy recently said he didn't think Wilson was in his best physical condition because he's been hurt so much. Nick Holden and Brad Malone will be healthy scratches.
Hejda, who was injured Dec. 5 in the Avalanche's 8-2 loss at Edmonton, said he felt good after the pregame skate this morning.
"Hopefully I didn't lose game shape," he said. "Nobody likes to be injured and watching the games on television. That's what I did for the last few games and it's not a good feeling. I'm really glad I can be a part of the game tonight."
Hejda was hurt while skating for the puck in the corner when he fell awkwardly and crashed into the boards. The injury appeared to be more serious than it turned out to be.
"I didn't watch the replays too much, but everybody was saying it looked bad," he said. "The good thing is it only took a little more than a week and hopefully I'm going to feel good on the ice. I was skating for three days and it's always good to be back in action as fast as possible."
Hejda has been the Avalanche's best defenseman while paired with Erik Johnson. He's averaging 22:10 in ice time and has three goals, six assists and a plus-17 plus/minus rating in 26 games.
Roy said right wing Alex Tanguay has made some progress from the knee and hip injuries he sustained Nov. 2 against Montreal, but he remains out indefinitely.
"He said this morning it was better," Roy said. "I think it's a step in the right direction, but we're not going to put any timeline on his return."
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This is an important game for both teams. The Avalanche (21-9-0) is in third place in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Wild (18-11-5), which has played four more games. The Avalanche swept a home-and-home series from the Wild two weeks ago, winning 3-1 in Minnesota and 3-2 in a shootout at home after squandering a late 2-0 lead.
"They've been great games," Roy said. "I was very happy with the game we played in Minny. I thought we were very patient, played a sound game. Taking the lead was key for us in those two matchups. Looking at the standings, wow, it's another very important game tonight. Both teams are pretty close. The one who wins tonight moves up, one goes down and then you're out of the playoff picture. It's pretty amazing. I guess it's going to be like this -- we hope to be in that playoff picture anyway -- the entire season."
Roy doesn't seem too concerned about a power play that has gone 0-for-24 in the past nine games.
"The last game in Winnipeg we had six pretty good chances," he said. "As long as we have chances, I'm very comfortable."
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Center Matt Duchene, who had two goals, an assist and the decisive shootout goal in Thursday's 4-3 win in Winnipeg, looked like his old self again while playing on a line with Ryan O'Reilly and Nathan MacKinnon.
"I finally felt healthy again," said Duchene, who had no goals and one assist in the previous eight games. He missed three games with an oblique injury and was weakened by a stomach bug that lingered for a while. "You lose the feel for your game when you're unhealthy. Thankfully I feel good now."
Minnesota native Johnson said it isn't a big deal playing against the Wild anymore.
"Just another game," he said. "But it's always fun to play them. It's a team my dad had season tickets for when I was growing up, so it's always cool to play them. But we want to make sure we maintain that separation in the standings. We want to make those games in hand count."
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avalanche. Josh Harding is expected to start for the Wild.
The Avalanche lineup:
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
DEFENSEMEN Erik Johnson -- Jan Hejda Tyson Barrie -- Nate Guenin Andre Benoit -- Cory Sarich
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Jean-Sebastien Giguere