Nemeth, Kamenev Set To Play Against Sabres

BUFFALO, N.Y.--Defenseman Patrik Nemeth will return to the lineup and forward Vladislav Kamenev will likely make his season debut on Thursday night when the Colorado Avalanche wraps up its two-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres.
Nemeth took part in his second full practice on Wednesday after suffering a minor upper-body injury in the season opener last Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. Mark Barberio has played the last two contests in Nemeth's absence, being paired on the backend with Nikita Zadorov, but head coach Jared Bednar hasn't chosen which of his now seven healthy D-men will sit versus the Sabres.

"I haven't made those decisions yet for tomorrow," Bednar said following the club's 30-minute practice at KeyBank Arena.
Kamenev was recalled by the Avalanche on Sunday after playing two contests last weekend with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. Kamenev has five games of NHL experience, with three coming with the Avalanche last season after being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 5.
He missed 50 games in 2017-18 after breaking his arm in his Colorado debut on Nov. 16 versus the Washington Capitals.
"It is a good time to give him an opportunity," Bednar noted of the Orsk, Russia, native. "He's played a couple games over the weekend, he's been up and practiced for a few days and is energized and ready to go."

Kamenev will replace Sheldon Dries on the team's fourth line against Buffalo, skating on a wing with Matt Calvert and J.T. Compher. The small roster change comes after the Avs lost 5-2 on Tuesday at the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"I think he's going to play. We didn't have a great outing, and he is a guy that we want to take a look at," Bednar said. "After a good outing and winning hockey games, you want to try and keep the lineup the same, see if you can continue on. In this case, we weren't as good as we wanted to be."
Compher was the only player that didn't participate in the on-ice session, which was split between breakout drills and special-teams work. He was given a maintenance day and is expected to play Thursday.
Bednar said goaltender Semyon Varlamov will get the start in net versus the Sabres.

Practice Line Combinations

Forwards
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Alex Kerfoot - Tyson Jost - Colin Wilson
Gabriel Bourque - Carl Soderberg - Matt Nieto
Matt Calvert - Vladislav Kamenev - Sheldon Dries
Defensemen\
Samuel Girard - Erik Johnson
Ian Cole - Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov - Mark Barberio/Patrik Nemeth
Goaltenders
Philipp Grubauer and Semyon Varlamov
Did not practice: J.T. Compher (maintenance)
\Defensemen did not run any specific even-strength drills and were mixed up with various partners