Vladislav Namestnikov will make his Avalanche debut Wednesday when Buffalo visits the Pepsi Center.
GAME NOTES
The Avalanche can move into second place in the Central Division with a win. They trail Dallas by one point and are five behind first-place St. Louis; they’ve played three fewer games than the Blues.
The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate because of the early start (6 p.m. MT), but Namestnikov, who was acquired Monday from Ottawa, was on a line at practice Tuesday with
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and
Martin Kaut.
Goalie
Michael Hutchinson, acquired from Toronto, will dress as the backup to
Pavel Francouz, who is on a 3-0-1 roll with a shutout, 1.46 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in his past four starts.
Coach
Jared Bednar said Tuesday that
Andre Burakovsky and
Matt Nieto were doubtful for the game because of upper-body injuries.
It looks like
Mark Barberio will dress as a seventh defenseman and perhaps play a bit on the fourth line.
“Depth is a luxury," Bednar said. “Not every team has it and we haven't always had it in the past. If you don't have it, it puts a heavy burden on your top guys to contribute every night. We want that push, that internal push, where guys have to play well to stay in their slots, and we've got that.
“I think we've got a determined group and that's why we've been able to sustain some of these injuries and continue to play well and pick up points. It can be the difference between fighting for a wild-card spot or pushing for the division, and that's what we're trying to do."
The expected lineup:
FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin
Tyson Jost -- J.T. Compher -- Joonas Donskoi
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Martin Kaut
Logan O'Connor -- Vladislav Kamenev -- Mark Barberio
DEFENSE
Ryan Graves -- Cale Makar
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Nikita Zadorov
GOALIES
Pavel Francouz
Michael Hutchinson
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