Goalie
Philipp Grubauer isn’t quite ready, so
Adam Werner will make his first NHL start Thursday when the Avalanche play in Edmonton.
GAME NOTES
Werner made 40 saves after relieving
Pavel Francouz (head injury) 31 seconds into the game Tuesday in his NHL debut, a 4-0 win in Winnipeg, the Avalanche’s third consecutive win.
Antoine Bibeau, who was recalled Wednesday from the Colorado Eagles is expected to be the backup.
Grubauer (lower-body injury) and center
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (concussion protocol) took part in the morning skate. Coach
Jared Bednar told reporters that Bellemare, who was injured Saturday against Columbus, will be a game-time decision.
Defenseman
Kevin Connauton will make his Avalanche debut, replacing
Mark Barberio. Connauton was recalled from the Eagles on Tuesday.
The projected lineup:
FORWARDS
Matt Calvert -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Joonas Dnskoi
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 -- Kevin Connauton
GOALIES
Adam Werner
Antoine Bibeau