J.T. Compher Sven Andrighetto Colorado Avalanche Arizona Coyotes 122317

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--After Wednesday's practice at Family Sports Center, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar confirmed that rookie forward J.T. Compher will be back in his lineup on Thursday when the club hosts the San Jose Sharks.
The Avalanche suffered four injuries in the span of five games around the holidays, and Compher is the first of those players to return to game action.

Defenseman Tyson Barrie injured his hand on Dec. 23 against the Arizona Coyotes while forwards Compher and Sven Andrightetto each suffered injuries on Dec. 29 against the Toronto Maple Leafs and on Dec. 31 versus the New York Islanders, respectively. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov left the Avs game against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 2 with a lower-body muscular injury.
In addition to Compher's return, Andrighetto, Barrie and Varlamov have been skating on their own and could be full-participants in practice soon.
"Barrie practiced yesterday with the team for a while; he skated on his own today with Andrighetto," said Bednar. "[Barrie is] a little bit sore today, as expected after shooting all of the pucks and doing all of that yesterday.
"[Varlamov] skated yesterday and today, just more stand up stuff to try to keep his conditioning, and he is working hard off of the ice. For me, it's the same plan. We will get him taking some shots probably next week sometime, and hopefully get him back right after the All-Star Break."

In Colorado's 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, forward Tyson Jost finished the game but incurred a lower-body injury and will not play against San Jose.
"He is day-to-day. He took that shot the other day so he is hurting a little bit still. He will be out for tomorrow," Bednar said of rookie Jost.
The Avalanche recalled Dominic Toninato from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League on Tuesday afternoon, but a decision on the team's roster for the Sharks game has not yet been made.
Despite a group of wounded players, the Avalanche has still found ways to win. Colorado is on a seven-game winning streak, the club's longest since it won eight straight from Dec. 31, 2005 to Jan. 17, 2016.
"It speaks a little bit to our depth and the way guys are willing to stick with it. One guy goes out and another guy comes in," Bednar said of finding ways to win with several players on injured reserve. "Our roster, we have some moveable pieces there with guys like Compher and Jost and Kerfoot, [guys that] can play wing and center. I just think other guys are stepping up. We are getting secondary scoring from different groups every night and the consistency of our group as a whole has been really good, so that's what's leading to the victories.
"Even Varly, he goes out and [Jonathan Bernier] steps up. So, it's good because you are going to go through the long season. It's a marathon, and we are only halfway home. You are going to get some injuries there and you need guys to step up at different times, and that's what's happening right now."
Colorado is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games and is facing a tough opponent in San Jose who is 6-2-2 in its last 10 contests.
"A real good team, I watched them play last night. I have watched some of the pre-scout, and they are fast," Bednar said of San Jose. "They are deep. They play the right way. They are getting really good goaltending right now. I think they have points in eight of their last 10. They are a good team. They are one of the top teams in the conference."
The Avalanche wants to keep its recent success going with the team two points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but it does have games in hand on many of the opponenets its chasing.
"We are not in a playoff spot, that's our goal," said defenseman Patrik Nemeth. "We have reason to work even harder and stay more focused to reach the playoffs. That's our main goal.
"All the teams are important now that we are playing. All the games are just so tough, so even if we are playing the East there are still points on the line… When we are playing our conference games, you are fighting with them for the wild card so that makes it even more important. But, it's still two points every game. I think that has to be our mindset."