Harrold in for Devils, Giguere in net for Avalanche

Monday, 02.03.2014 / 6:17 PM

By Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer / 2013-2014 At the Rink Blog

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NEWARK, N.J. -- New Jersey Devils defenseman Peter Harrold will return to the lineup for the first time in almost two months Monday when his team hosts the Colorado Avalanche at Prudential Center.

Harrold has been out since Dec. 7 when he slid into the goal post during a 4-3 overtime victory against the New York Rangers. Defenseman Anton Volchenkov, who sustained a lower-body injury in the second period of an overtime loss against the Nashville Predators on Friday, will not be in the lineup for the Devils.

Harrold, who missed 25 games with a non-displaced right foot fracture, was activated from injured reserve Monday morning.

"We talk about the situation we're in on a daily basis and where we want to get to and what we have to do to get there, so those are daily conversations but not specifically about the standings or schedule; it's more generalities," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said.

The Devils are 13th in the Eastern Conference with 23 wins and 58 points; two points behind the eighth-seeded Detroit Red Wings.

Cory Schneider is expected to make his fourth straight start in goal for the Devils. Schneider is 6-2-3 with a 1.47 goals-against average and .945 save-percentage in his past 12 appearances. He's second in the NHL behind Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding with a 1.91 GAA and ranks tied for fifth with a .925 save percentage.

Schneider, 27, is 6-1-2 with a 1.54 GAA and .952 save percentage in 10 career games against the Avalanche.

Colorado coach Patrick Roy will counter with Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who will be making his first start since Jan. 6. Giguere's last victory occurred Dec. 6 in a 3-2 win against the Flames. The veteran goalie is 5-1-2 with a 1.62 GAA and .944 save percentage in nine career games against the Devils.

Roy confirmed that Paul Stastny (ankle) and Alex Tanguay (knee), who both missed the Colorado's 7-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, will remain out against the Devils.

"Paul and Alex are both day-to-day," Roy said. "We'll see after a few days how they feel and we're certainly not going to push them. When they're ready, they'll be ready. Hopefully it will be soon but at the same time, every team is getting hit by injuries over the course of a season and we're comfortable with our depth. Everyone is playing well for us."

Here are the projected lineups for both teams:

DEVILS

Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr

Patrik Elias - Andrei Loktionov - Damien Brunner

Ryane Clowe - Adam Henrique - Michael Ryder

Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier

Andy Greene - Mark Fayne

Bryce Salvador - Peter Harrold

Jon Merrill - Marek Zidlicky

Cory Schneider

Martin Brodeur

Scratched: Jacob Josefson