Semyon Varlamov will be in goal and coach Patrick Roy is tinkering with the lines again when the Avalanche play Winnipeg on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center.

Here are the GAME NOTES.

While the Avalanche have been giving up way too many shots lately, they've also struggled on offense, spending too much time in their own zone.

Mikhail Grigorenko will replace Jarome Iginla at left wing on the top line with center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Matt Duchene. Center John Mitchell will skate with left wing Alex Tanguay and Iginla, all three of whom have been struggling to score.

"It's a really good opportunity for me," said Grigorenko, who has three goals in 46 games, one in the past nine games. "I want to kep working hard, win my battles and move my feet. They're great players, and if any player works hard that plays with them, it shouldn't be any problem. We've played together before and it's been a lot of fun so hopefully we'll be able to score a couple goals tonight."

Andreas Martinsen will play left wing on the fourth line with center Chris Wagner and right wing Cody McLeod. Jack Skille won't play after sustaining a concussion in the third period Thursday against Dallas.

"I want to distribute the puck as much as I can, and I know Tangs wants to as well," Mitchell said. "When he has the puck, I want to get to open space. I'm confident he'll be able to find me or Iggy. I want to work hard and chip in a few goals."

Mitchell has eight goals in 43 games; he's gone 19 games without one. Iginla has 13 goals in 54 games; he's gone seven games without one and has one goal in the past 12 games. Tanguay has three goals in 42 games; he's gone five games without one and has one goal in the past 32 games.

"Jarome and I have a lot of familiarity with one another, and we've played with John," Tanguay said. "We're looking to contribute a little bit more, play our game and play a little bit better as a team. Changes through the lineup, it happens all the time. It's nothing new to anyone playing hockey. It's a long season and there are times when you play good and times when you don't play as well as you'd like.

"We haven't had the success we'd like over the course of the last little bit, allowing a lot of shots and not playing as confident as maybe we were earlier. It's a great opportunity for us."

Andrew Bodnarchuk will replace Zach Redmond on defense.

Varlamov will play for the first time since Jan. 23 when he made 42 saves in a 3-1 win in Dallas. He spent eight days over the past two weeks in a Denver courtroom during the civil lawsuit filed against him by his former girlfriend. It ended late Tuesday when the jury sided with him, awarding him $126,000.

"He's a huge part of our team," Tanguay said. "It's like a good pitcher in baseball or a quarterback in football. When those guys are playing well, it gives your team a chance to win every single night. Varly has been the key to our comeback since December and January when we made up a lot of ground. We were way down in the standings and now we're in contention. He's a huge part of where we are."

The Avalanche (27-23-4) have the first wild card in the Western Conference but went 1-2-1 in the previous four games. Calvin Pickard played well while facing an average of 37 shots in that stretch, a 41-shot average in the past three games.

"We'd like to cut down on shots against and spend a little less time in our own zone," Roy said. "Last game (a 4-3 overtime loss Thursday to the Stars) I think we were something like 26 minutes in our own zone, which is way too much. We'd like to cut down on that. The last few games we've been spending a lot of time in our end."

The Jets (22-26-3) didn't have a morning skate after arriving in Denver following their 5-3 home loss on Friday to Carolina. They've lost two games in a row and have gone 3-7-1 in their past 11 games.

Here is the Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Mikhail Grigorenko - Nathan MacKinnon - Matt Duchene
Gabriel Landeskog - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Jarome Iginla
Andreas Martinsen - Chris Wagner - Cody McLeod

DEFENSE
Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson
Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie
Andrew Bodnarchuk - Chris Bigras

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard



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