Projected Lineup: Avalanche vs. Lightning
Pavel Francouz gets the start, T.J. Tynan returns to the lineup
by Callie Parmele @CallieParmele / ColoradoAvalanche.com
The Colorado Avalanche will make a couple of changes to its lineup this evening when the team hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning at Pepsi Center.
Pavel Francouz will get the start in net as Philipp Grubauer is out with a lower-body injury. Francouz was between the pipes when the Avs visited the Bolts earlier this year and made a career-high 44 saves in the 6-2 victory.
Hunter Miska was recalled from the American Hockey League's Colorado Eagles on Sunday and will backup Francouz. Miska has appeared in one NHL game, making eight saves in relief on Nov. 13, 2018 with the Arizona Coyotes at the Detroit Red Wings. With the Eagles this year, he has a 13-5-3 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average.
T.J. Tynan will also be in the lineup as forward Matt Calvert is out for a couple weeks with an oblique strain. Tynan has one assist after playing in 14 straight outings with the Avs from Nov. 7-Dec. 7. He also leads AHL Colorado with 40 points (four goals, 36 assists) in 34 contests.
Tynan is expected to be on a line with Tyson Jost and Vladislav Kamenev, while Matt Nieto, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Valeri Nichushkin will make up one of the Avs' other bottom six trio.
Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup. All forward combinations and defensive pairings are subject to change.
Forwards
95 Andre Burakovsky - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 83 Matt Nieto
36 T.J. Tynan - 17 Tyson Jost - 81 Vladislav Kamenev
Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 28 Ian Cole
Goaltenders
39 Pavel Francouz
32 Hunter Miska
Healthy Scratch: Mark Barberio
Injury Report: Matt Calvert (oblique strain), Philipp Grubauer (lower body), Nazem Kadri (lower body), Colin Wilson (lower body)