"It is tough decisions there on the back end, and hopefully that can drive the best out of all of our guys," said head coach Jared Bednar. "I think that Graves came in, he has been a pleasant surprise. He has played real well on both sides of the puck. He has helped us provide a little bit of offense.
"I think on any given night, you kind of look at a group of our D and some nights one guy plays better than the other and vice versa. We are going to have some tough decisions to make there, but that is a good thing."
Bednar also noted that the rest of his lineup will be the exact same as it was in Colorado's last outing, a 3-2 shootout win against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday at Pepsi Center.
Semyon Varlamov was the first goaltender off the ice from Colorado's morning skate and is expected to start between the pipes. He is 5-1-1 in his last seven starts with a 1.84 goals-against average, .945 save percentage and one shutout in that time frame.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup based on the forward combinations from Wednesday's game against Vancouver. They are subject to change.
