Projected Lineup: Avalanche vs. Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche will return to a traditional lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen for tonight's game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Forward Matt Nieto has been cleared for game action after missing the past 15 contests with a lower-body injury. Head coach Jared Bednar did not say which line the left wing will play on, but Nieto skated with Andrew Agozzino and Gabriel Bourque at Tuesday's practice.

Goaltender Philipp Grubauer will make his sixth straight start in net for the Avalanche, setting a new career high for consecutive starts. Grubauer made 40 saves on Sunday in a 2-1 overtime loss at the Chicago Blackhawks and has a 4-0-1 record, 1.19 goals-against average and .966 save percentage in his last five outings.
Prior to today's morning skate, the Avs assigned defenseman Mark Barberio to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint. Barberio has missed 41 games this year with various ailments, including the last 14 with a lower-body injury. He last played on Jan. 21 versus the Nashville Predators.
Defenseman Ryan Graves will be Colorado's healthy scratch.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup for tonight's game against the Golden Knights. All forward combinations and defensive pairings are subject to change.

Forwards

13 Alexander Kerfoot - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 37 J.T. Compher
22 Colin Wilson - 34 Carl Soderberg - 10 Sven Andrighetto
18 Derick Brassard - 17 Tyson Jost - 11 Matt Calvert
83 Matt Nieto - 26 Andrew Agozzino - 57 Gabriel Bourque

Defensemen

49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
28 Ian Cole - 4 Tyson Barrie
16 Nikita Zadorov - 12 Patrik Nemeth

Goaltenders

31 Philipp Grubauer
1 Semyon Varlamov
Scratch: 27 Ryan Graves
Injury Report: 91 Vladislav Kamenev (shoulder), 92 Gabriel Landeskog (upper body), 96 Mikko Rantanen (upper body)