Gabriel Bourque and Sam Henley will be in the lineup Thursday when the Avalanche play Columbus at the Pepsi Center.

Coach Jared Bednar said after practice Wednesday that he wanted to see some "snarl" from the Avalanche. After the morning skate Thursday, he said he expects the two call-ups from AHL San Antonio to add that ingredient.

"We're looking for some energy, passion and juice from our forward group tonight, and I think those guys can help provide that," he said.

Henley, 23, will make his NHL debut on the fourth line with demoted center Carl Soderberg and Andreas Martinsen, and kill penalties. Henley, who is 6-feet-4 and 210 pounds, was signed in May 2014 as an undrafted free agent. He played three years in his hometown with Val-d'Or in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and had 30 goals and 39 assists in 51 games his final season in 2013-14.

Henley had 6-4-10 in 54 games with Lake Erie in 2014-15, with 8-7-15 in 74 games with the Rampage last season, and 1-3-4 in 19 games this year.

Bourque, 26, came to training camp on a professional tryout, made the Avalanche and was sent to San Antonio on Oct. 31 after playing in five games without a point. The 5-10, 206-pound forward had two goals and three assists in 11 games with the Rampage. He'll play on a line with John Mitchell and Jarome Iginla, and also kill penalties.

"I'm just really excited, a little bit nervous, but I think it's all going to be good for the game," said Henley, whose mom, brother and girlfriend will attend the game. "My dad couldn't make it, he's a big fan and really excited for me."

Henley on his playing style: "I try to be as hard to play against as possible, good defensively and try to play good on the PK ... just a physical game. If there's fights I can also do that. A physical aspect is what I bring the most."

Bourque said he worked on his game in San Antonio hoping to eventually get the call he received Wednesday.

"I went down there and played 18-20 minutes a night," he said. "I enjoyed my time there. I worked hard and came here to do the same job. The fans were great down there and the weather is awesome, so I can't complain."

Joe Colborne, Cody McLeod and Eric Gelinas, who is on waivers, will be scratched.

Bednar said the Avalanche considered recalling A.J. Greer again, but the word from San Antonio was that Bourque and Henley were playing well and Greer didn't last weekend after getting sent down.

"Their work ethic, their compete level, they're two real strong penalty killers and we're playing the team with the league's No. 1 power play, so we may need them," Bednar said. "I think that they've earned it."

Bednar said that Henley was the team's best penalty killer in camp.

"Blocking shots, he's committed defensively," he said. "He's a guy that's paid his dues in this organization and he's a physical guy, knows his role, plays to his role. The desperation that he plays with on the penalty killing and certain defensive situations, we really liked him in camp so we're going to give him an opportunity tonight.

“I don’t want to be too hard on our group, but it’s time to see growth,” Bednar said. “There are players that are dying to play here. It’s the best league in the world for a reason and there’s a certain amount of passion that we want and you need in order to win hockey games. We have the ability today to recall a couple of guys to give us that passion, so that’s what we’re doing.”

As for Greer:

“I think the culture and the message that we want to send through our organization is you get what you earn," Bednar said. "He was up here, he played real well for us, we like what he did, but he didn’t have a great weekend in San Antonio. (Assistant GM) Craig Billington was there last weekend and he saw the guys that are playing hard, providing what we’re looking for here.”

Putting Gelinas on waivers, Bednar said, was done "just to give us some flexibility with the cap, to be able to do some things, like we’re doing today. He’s part of our team, he’s a big part of it, he hasn’t played a lot of games (seven), but he’s been working hard and he’s still with our team.”

Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start.

While the Avalanche (9-11-1) are 0-2-1 in the first three games of a five-game homestand, the Blue Jackets (12-5-4) are 6-1-2 in their past nine games.

Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his fifth consecutive start. He made 26 saves Tuesday in a 5-1 win against Tampa Bay, is tied for second in the NHL in wins (12) and shutouts (three), and has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his past 13 games.

Defenseman Zach Werenski had three goals and seven assists in 10 games in November and was named NHL Rookie of the Month. He has 5-11-16 in 21 games.

Columbus has a 27.8 percent success rate on power plays (15-of-54), best in the league, so Colorado had best stay out of the penalty box as much as possible.

The Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Mikko Rantanen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Rene Bourque
Blake Comeau -- Mikhail Grigorenko -- Matt Duchene
Gabriel Bourque -- John Mitchell -- Jarome Iginla
Sam Henley -- Carl Soderberg -- Andreas Martinsen

DEFENSE
Fedor Tyutin -- Erik Johnson
Patrick Wiercioch -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Francois Beauchemin

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard



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