Projected Lineup: Avalanche vs. Coyotes (April 12, 2021)

Philipp Grubauer will be between the pipes this evening when the Colorado Avalanche returns to Ball Arena for one game against the Arizona Coyotes.
The goaltender did not dress for the first time this season on Sunday when the Avs picked up a 4-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks to conclude a four-game road trip. Jonas Johansson made 24-of-25 saves in the win and was backed up by Devan Dubnyk, who Colorado acquired from the San Jose Sharks in a trade on Saturday.

Grubauer is tied for first in the NHL in shutouts (five), ranks second in wins (24) and is tied for third in goals-against average (2.00). He has played in 33 outings this year, tied for the most in the league, and his 24 wins and five shutouts are both career bests.
Colorado did not hold a morning skate today so its exact lineup won't be known until closer to puck drop, but the club could make a change to its personnel on defense. Jacob MacDonald, who served the final game of a two-outing suspension on Sunday, is expected to be back in the lineup.
MacDonald has played in 27 contests this year and has seven points (one goal, six assists). If he returns, Kyle Burroughs or Keaton Middleton are likely to be scratched after both made their NHL debuts on Colorado's four-game trip.
The Avalanche is 7-1-0 in its last eight games and 15-1-2 in its last 18. The Avs are 19-3-3 in their past 25 contests, matching the best 25-game stretch in franchise history.
Tonight's outing concludes the team's seventh back-to-back set of the year. The squad is a combined 9-1-3 in back-to-backs in 2020-21, with a 6-1-0 mark in the first game and a 3-0-3 record in the second.
The Avs made one move earlier today prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, re-acquiring forward Carl Soderberg in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Soderberg suited up for the Avalanche from 2015-2019, and it is unknown when he will be available to play for Colorado this season.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup based on the forward combinations and defensive pairings from Sunday's outing in Anaheim. They are subject to change.
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
95 Andre Burakovsky - 91 Nazem Kadri - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
20 Brandon Saad - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Joonas Donskoi
38 Liam O'Brien - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 37 J.T. Compher
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 49 Samuel Girard
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
88 Kyle Burroughs AND/OR 67 Keaton Middleton AND/OR 34 Jacob MacDonald
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
40 Devan Dubnyk OR 35 Jonas Johansson
Scratch: Carl Soderberg
Taxi Squad:Jayson Megna
Injury Report: Bowen Byram (upper body & COVID protocol), Matt Calvert (upper body), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Erik Johnson (upper body), Patrik Nemeth (upper body), Logan O'Connor (lower body)