At the Rink: Sharks at Avalanche

DENVER -- Jamie and Tye McGinn spent plenty of hours as children playing hockey in the backyard of their home in Fergus, Ontario, while hoping for the chance to make it as professionals.

They realized that dream and will play against each other for the first time since then Tuesday at Pepsi Center when Jamie's Colorado Avalanche face off against Tye's San Jose Sharks.

"It's one that was marked on the calendar," said Jamie, 26, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound left wing. "It'll be very exciting. We have our family here, so we're super excited, but I also have to focus on playing tonight, and playing hard."

Jamie, Tye, their parents, maternal grandparents and an aunt will be in attendance after having a family dinner Monday night.

"We were just enjoying the time," said Tye, 24, a 6-2, 205-pound left wing. "We don't get to spend too much together unless it's the offseason. Playing in the backyard was fun and this is going to be pretty special."

A third sibling, Brock, 20, is playing for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League. He was a second-round pick (No. 47) of the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2012 NHL Draft.

"Hopefully our little brother can get the chance to be up and we can have a family reunion there too," Tye said.

Jamie has been playing regularly for the Avalanche since he was traded from the Sharks on Feb. 27, 2012. He has three goals and one assist in nine games and is playing on a line with center John Mitchell and right wing Maxime Talbot.

Tye has two assists in seven games and will skate on the fourth line with center Adam Burish and right wing Andrew Desjardins. He was a healthy scratch in three of the past four games.

The Philadelphia Flyers traded Tye to the Sharks on July 2 in exchange for a third-round pick in 2015.

"I was excited for him," Jamie said. "I was able to give him some advice about the people and the area and where to live."

The brothers are hoping to get a shift or two against each other but realize the priority is winning the game. The Avalanche (2-4-3) have gotten off to a slow start and the Sharks (5-4-1) have been inconsistent.

"I hope so, that'd be great," Jamie said of being on the ice at the same time as Tye. "I know my mom probably doesn't want that. She wouldn't know who to cheer for. I'm looking forward to it no matter what happens. It'll be awesome to see him if he's on the bench when I'm out there or when I'm on the bench and he's out there. But I have to focus on this team and winning this game."

Avalanche defenseman Brad Stuart will also be playing against his former Sharks teammates. He signed with Colorado as a free agent July 1.

"It's always a little strange playing against the guys you played with the season before, but I've done it before," Stuart said.

Here are the projected lineups:

SHARKS

Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - James Sheppard

Tomas Hertl - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski

Matt Nieto - Chris Tierney - Tommy Wingels

Tye McGinn - Adam Burish - Andrew Desjardins

Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun

Mirco Mueller - Brent Burns

Matt Irwin - Scott Hannan

Antti Niemi

Alex Stalock

Injured: Mike Brown (hand), Barclay Goodrow (hand), Tyler Kennedy (upper body), Raffi Torres (knee)

Scratched: Jason Demers, John Scott

AVALANCHE

Alex Tanguay - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla

Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon

Jamie McGinn - John Mitchell - Maxime Talbot

Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Daniel Briere

Jan Hejda - Erik Johnson

Brad Stuart - Tyson Barrie

Nick Holden - Zach Redmond

Semyon Varlamov

Reto Berra

Scratched: Nate Guenin

Injured: Patrick Bordeleau (back surgery), Ryan Wilson (shoulder), Jesse Winchester (concussion)

Status report: Scott will serve the first game of a two-game suspension he received for starting an altercation after leaving the bench on a legal line change Sunday when the Sharks played the Anaheim Ducks. … Winchester skated for the second day in a row without a red non-contact jersey and might play Thursday when the Avalanche face the New York Islanders. Winchester hasn't played since he sustained a concussion in a preseason game against the Calgary Flames.

Who's hot: Couture has three goals and three assists in the past four games. Burns has a goal and an assist in a two-game scoring streak. … Tanguay has three goals and two assists in a five-game scoring streak. Barrie has one goal and five assists in a four-game streak.