Matt Calvert was on the ice with the group in a red, non-contact jersey today after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, and head coach Jared Bednar said the forward could return to game action as soon as tomorrow.
Colorado will use the same six defensemen as it did in its previous two games with Bowen Byram and Cale Makar each out with upper-body injuries. Head coach Jared Bednar said Byram is progressing and skated with Calvert before the group began the practice. Bednar also noted that Makar is also improving and is still day-to-day, but the rear guard is not expected to play in the next few games.
Bednar did not have an update on defenseman Erik Johnson (upper body) or goaltender Pavel Francouz (lower body) but did say that prospect Dennis Gilbert was in the building this morning and is beginning off-ice workouts after having surgery a few weeks ago following an upper-body injury.
Philipp Grubauer was the first goaltender off the ice from morning skate and is expected to start in net for the Avs for the 18th time this season. He shares the league lead with three shutouts, matching his career high, and is tied for third in wins (11).
Tonight's contest opens a nine-game homestand for Colorado. The homestay, which runs from March 5-20, is the longest continuous homestand in Avalanche history.
It is also the beginning of the fourth back-to-back set for the Avs, who swept a back-to-back at the Arizona Coyotes last weekend. The team is 2-1-0 in the first night when playing on consecutive days and 2-0-1 in the second.
Below is Colorado's projected lineup based on the forward combinations and defensive pairings from Wednesday's outing in San Jose. They are subject to change.
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
20 Brandon Saad - 91 Nazem Kadri - 95 Andre Burakovsky
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
17 Tyson Jost - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 27 Ryan Graves
34 Jacob MacDonald - 49 Samuel Girard
2 Dan Renouf - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
32 Hunter Miska
Taxi Squad: Peyton Jones, Kiefer Sherwood
Injury Report:Bowen Byram (upper body), Matt Calvert (upper body), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Dennis Gilbert (upper body), Erik Johnson (upper body), Cale Makar (upper body)
