Projected Lineup: Avalanche at Capitals

Nathan MacKinnon is back and will play his first game of the season tonight with the Colorado Avalanche against the Washington Capitals after receiving two negative COVID tests and being cleared from protocol.
The forward flew to that nation's capital on Monday evening to join the Avs on their three-game road trip. Jack Johnson was also removed from COVID protocol list ahead of the teams Monday morning flight and is available to play.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss the matchup tonight against the Caps as he is finishing out his two-game suspension for boarding Kirby Dach on the Avalanche's opening night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Forwards Martin Kaut and Mikhail Malstev were recalled from the Avs' American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, on Monday to join the squad on the road while Dylan Sikura was reassigned back to the Eagles.
Head coach Jared Bednar said after this morning's skate that the team will use 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the matchup at Capital One Arena with Jayson Megna being scratched. With 11 forwards, the lines are likely to be mixed and matched throughout the contest
Defenseman Devon Toews is on the trip this week as well despite not being able to play as he is still a non-contact participant.
Stefan Matteau will be out for "weeks" with a lower-body injury that he sustained during Saturday's matchup against the St. Louis Blues.
Valeri Nichushkin remains out week-to-week with an upper-body injury and goaltender Pavel Francouz is out three-to-four weeks after suffering a lower-body injury in a preseason game.
Darcy Kuemper was the first goaltender off the ice from the Avs' morning skate and is expected to start this evening.
Below is Colorado's projected lineup. The forward combinations and defensive pairings are subject to change.
Forwards
95 Andre Burakovsky - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
75 Sampo Ranta - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
43 Darren Helm - 17 Tyson Jost - 25 Logan O'Connor
11 Mikhail Malstev- 61 Martin Kaut
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 8 Cale Makar
4 Bowen Byram - 6 Erik Johnson
3 Jack Johnson- 28 Ryan Murray
56 Kurtis MacDermid
Goaltenders
35 Darcy Kuemper
31 Jonas Johansson
Scratch:Jayson Megna
Injury Report: Pavel Francouz (lower body), Stefan Matteau (lower body), Valeri Nichushkin (upper body), Devon Toews (upper body)