Projected Lineup: Avalanche at Ducks (Jan. 24, 2021)

The Colorado Avalanche will tweak some of its line combinations this evening as the team wraps up its four-game road trip in Southern California against the Anaheim Ducks.
Andre Burakovsky will return to the lineup after missing the previous three contests with a minor upper-body injury, and head coach Jared Bednar said in his pregame media availability that the forward will play on a trio with J.T. Compher at center and Brandon Saad on the other wing.

Nazem Kadri will center a line with Matt Calvert and Valeri Nichushkin, while Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Joonas Donskoi and Tyson Jost will make up Colorado's fourth forward combo.
On defense, Conor Timmins will reenter the lineup and begin the contest on a pairing with Greg Pateryn. Rookie Bowen Byram will start with Samuel Girard, while the Avs' duo of Cale Makar and Devon Toews will remain unchanged. Ryan Graves is the defensive scratch this evening.
Philipp Grubauer will start in net for the second-straight game for Colorado. He made a season-high 36 saves in the Avs' 3-2 overtime victory at the Ducks on Friday. Hunter Miska will be the backup, as Bednar noted that Pavel Francouz has yet to skate after suffering a lower-body injury at Monday's practice.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup for its second contest against the Ducks on this road trip. All forward combinations and defensive pairings are subject to change.
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
20 Brandon Saad - 37 J.T. Compher - 95 Andre Burakovsky
11 Matt Calvert - 91 Nazem Kadri - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
17 Tyson Jost - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 72 Joonas Donskoi
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
4 Bowen Byram - 49 Samuel Girard
22 Conor Timmins - 5 Greg Pateryn
Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer (starter)
32 Hunter Miska (backup)
Scratches: Ryan Graves, Erik Johnson (conditioning following COVID-19 protocol)
Injury Report: Pavel Francouz (lower body)
Taxi Squad: Dennis Gilbert, Martin Kaut, Kiefer Sherwood, Adam Werner