Forward J.T. Compher and defenseman Bowen Byram were both non-contact participants in the Avalanche's morning session after missing three and six games, respectively. Head coach Jared Bednar said on Thursday that Byram is probably the next guy on Colorado's injured list to return to the lineup.
Blueliner Dennis Gilbert wore a regular practice jersey with a full-face shield in the pre-game skate. Gilbert last played on Feb. 16 and was estimated to be out four-to-six weeks after requiring surgery to help him recover from his upper-body injury.
Bednar also noted after the practice that rear guard Cale Makar also skated on his own this morning. Makar has missed seven games with an upper-body injury.
Tonight's contest is the third of eight meetings between the Avalanche and Kings this season and the first of four at Ball Arena. The Avs and Kings split the first two matchup at Staples Center with Colorado winning 3-2 on Jan. 19 and falling 4-2 on Jan. 21.
Colorado has allowed less than 30 shots (29 or fewer) in 14 straight games, tied for the longest such streak in franchise history. The Avs lead the NHL this season in the fewest shots against per game at 25.2.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup based on the forward combinations and defensive pairings from Wednesday's outing against the Arizona Coyotes. 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 - 17 Tyson Jost - 72 Joonas Donskoi
11 Matt Calvert - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Logan O'Connor
Defensemen
34 Jacob MacDonald - 49 Samuel Girard
27 Ryan Graves - 7 Devon Toews
2 Dan Renouf - 5 Greg Pateryn
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
32 Hunter Miska
Taxi Squad: Kyle Burroughs, Peyton Jones, Jayson Megna, Kiefer Sherwood
Injury Report: Bowen Byram (upper body), J.T. Compher (upper body), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Dennis Gilbert (upper body), Erik Johnson (upper body), Cale Makar (upper body), Conor Timmins (upper body)
