Jonathan Bernier will start in goal and the left wing rotation on the top line will continue Sunday when the Avalanche play Dallas at the Pepsi Center.

Coach Jared Bednar said Saturday that he hadn't finalized the lineup for the Stars, but that Bernier will be in net and he expects J.T. Compher to be at left wing with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

"I think so," he said. "I liked him there (Friday) night. I like the way he skates and helps to push the pace on that line."

Nail Yakupov began the game, a 2-1 loss to New Jersey, as a replacement for suspended Gabriel Landeskog, two nights after Sven Andrighetto was given the chance.

Yakupov's time didn't last long. Compher eventually replaced him, produced a second-period power-play goal that tied the game, and had three shots in 19:02 of ice, second among Avalanche forwards to Carl Soderberg's 19:31.

"I really like playing with those two guys," Compher said after practice Saturday. "They play fast, they play hard. We did some good things, had a few scoring chances we would like to have capitalized on, but overall I liked it. Hopefully I can help those guys produce."

A natural center, Compher said he hasn't played left wing very much.

"The way our system is, I can just read off guys," he said. "They were really good with me, telling me to play my game. That's why I was put there, to play fast and move the puck so those guys get scoring chances. I tried not to change anything, just read off them and do what I can to help them out."

Bednar said it hasn't been frustrating trying to find the right forward to fill in for Landeskog, who has two games left on his suspension.

"Landy is a big piece of the puzzle, and I'm just glad this is short term," he said. "We're looking for someone to step up and seize the opportunity and make the most of it and help that line continue to do what they've been doing. We haven't found that over the course of a couple games. If we have to move guys around, that's what we'll do."

*****

Say this for defenseman Nikita Zadorov, he didn't hide after his bonehead play Friday that led to Jesper Bratt's gift goal and a 1-0 Devils lead in the second period.

“It’s on me, it was a mistake, cost us the game,” Zadorov said. "'I think I made a bad play on the second goal as well. I’m taking all the responsibility.”

Goalie Semyon Varlamov left the puck for Zadorov behind the net, and he slid a backhander to the bottom of the left circle which Bratt promptly fired inside the near post. Varlamov was on the opposite side and had no chance to make a save.

"I can't make those plays, I have to double check," Zadorov said. "I saw one guy dump it in and he came from the other side of the net. I thought that guy might change, but he didn't."

Said Bednar: “He went back, he had time. He checked his shoulder early and then he didn’t look again. He just threw it out there and put it right on the guy’s tape and it ends up in the back of our net. We got to back him up, stick together. Guys make mistakes all over the ice, that just happened to be a glaring one."

Compher tied the game, but the Devils went ahead at 6:11 of the third period when 6-feet-6 forward Brian Boyle banged in a loose puck on a power play after Varlamov made a glove stop against Taylor Hall but didn't catch the puck or cover it when it fell to the ice.

Bratt helped set up the play by skating around Zadorov before feeding Hall. Zadorov and a couple teammates had chances to clear the puck before Boyle put it under Varlamov's right pad.



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