Nemeth will replace Jacob MacDonald on a defensive pairing with rookie Conor Timmins in Colorado's lineup against St. Louis. MacDonald and forward Kiefer Sherwood will be the scotches.
The Avalanche will make several changes to its forward combinations with Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi both in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol with goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Andre Burakovsky will start on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, while J.T. Compher will move up to Burakovsky's former spot to form a trio with Nazem Kadri and Carl Soderberg.
Rookie Martin Kaut will skate in his second game of the season and 11th of his career, as he'll be the right wing on Colorado's fourth line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Liam O'Brien. Kaut's first outing in the NHL this year was on Jan. 22 at the Anaheim Ducks.
Kaut was recalled from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, along with Keaton Middleton, Miikka Salomaki and Adam Werner, all of whom are presently on the Avalanche's taxi squad.
The Avs' third line of Tyson Jost, Valeri Nichushkin and Brandon Saad remains the same as in the team's last contest.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk will make his second career start with Colorado after making 31-of-34 saves in his debut on April 14 at St. Louis.
The Avalanche will close out its season series against the Blues on this road trip, with the clubs also set to face-off on Saturday and Monday in St. Louis. Colorado wraps up its trip on Wednesday at the Vegas Golden Knights.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup for tonight's game at the Blues. All forward combinations and defensive pairings are subject to change.
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 95 Andre Burakovsky
34 Carl Soderberg - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
20 Brandon Saad - 17 Tyson Jost - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
38 Liam O'Brien - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 61 Martin Kaut
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 7 Devon Toews
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
24 Patrik Nemeth - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
40 Devan Dubnyk
35 Jonas Johansson
Scratches: Jacob MacDonald, Kiefer Sherwood
Taxi Squad: Kyle Burroughs, Peyton Jones, Keaton Middleton, Dan Renouf, Miikka Salomaki, Adam Werner
Injury Report: Bowen Byram (upper body & COVID protocol-related absence), Matt Calvert (upper body), Joonas Donskoi (COVID protocol-related absence), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Philipp Grubauer (COVID protocol-related absence), Erik Johnson (upper body), Logan O'Connor (lower body), Mikko Rantanen (COVID protocol-related absence)
