Young D-Men to Return in Big Matchup with Minny

A few young defensemen will be returning for the Colorado Avalanche tonight in what might be the team's biggest game of the year so far when it takes on the Minnesota Wild.
Bowen Byram and Cale Makar will both be back in the lineup for the Avs this evening after missing nine and 10 games, respectively, with upper-body injuries. They last played in the back-to-back series at the Arizona Coyotes at the end of February, with Makar last suiting up on Feb. 26 and Byram last skating on Feb. 27.
"I am super excited," Byram said following this morning's practice. "Being out for a couple of weeks sucked, and it felt like forever, but to be back now I am super excited. Got a big game tonight against Minnesota so just trying to stay focused on that."

Byram has played in 15 games so far in his rookie campaign and has recorded two assists and logged a career-high 25:03 of ice time in Colorado's 3-2 victory at the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 16. Makar has also skated in 15 contests this season and has the reigning Calder Trophy winner has one goal and 13 helpers.
With Byram and Makar getting back into game action, defensemen Greg Pateryn and Dan Renouf will be out of the lineup.
"With Cale coming back in, I mean he's a superstar and we got to get him back in the lineup playing here, and he's healthy and we know what he can do and how he can help us," said head coach Jared Bednar. "Bo, as a young guy coming in for the most part has been real good for us, been a little bit inconsistent as you'd expect from any young player coming in, especially a D-man. But I think that we got to get him playing, get him up to speed and start watching his growth, and see if we can get him in areas where he's an impact player for us here down the stretch run and get the most out of him. He is going to be put in some different situations, and we will monitor his game."
The Avs and Wild are each riding win streaks with Colorado having recorded two points in a season-high four in a row and the Wild having won five straight. Both squads are 7-2-1 in their last 10 contests.
Colorado is one point behind Minnesota in the West Division standings, as the Avs currently hold 36 points and a 17-8-2 record while the Wild has 37 points and an 18-8-1 mark through 27 games this year.
"They are a good team, they've got a lot of depth," Byram said. "Some guys that can really shoot the puck and make plays, so we got to be ready to go. We've just kind of talked about how it's a big test for us tonight to see where we are at. We are all excited, and we will all be ready to go tonight."
Colorado is 2-1-1 against Minnesota so far this year and fell 6-2 in the squads' last meeting at Ball Arena on Feb. 24.

OTHER LINEUP NEWS

Forward J.T. Compher is also medically cleared to play from an upper-body injury, but the Avs will rest him tonight to give him an extra day of conditioning before reinserting him into the lineup on Saturday. He last played on March 5 against the Anaheim Ducks and will miss his seventh game in a row this evening.
Samuel Girard didn't take part in morning skate, but the defenseman will play this evening as Bednar just wanted to give him some extra rest. Girard is averaging 26:03 of ice time through nine games in the month of March--fifth most in the league.
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is expected to get the start in net after picking up his 16th win of the season on Tuesday.
View: Avalanche vs. Wild Projected Lineup

FANS BACK IN THE STANDS, SOON

Ball Arena has received a capacity variance approval from the state of Colorado and the Avalanche will be able to host 4,050 fans starting on April 2 when it faces the St. Louis Blues.
"It's really exciting, it's hard to even remember the last time we played in front of fans (in Denver) and they just add that level of excitement and energy, especially here at Ball Arena," said Bednar. "We are looking forward to it. We've played in some building already this year where there has been some fans, and it just brings a whole other element to the game and that's why these guys play. They love to perform and to do it in front of our fans is going to be awesome. We are really looking forward to that, especially as this thing goes along if we are able to add more and more fans if things go well. This is an exciting time for our hockey team here going into the second half of the season."
On March 31, frontline staff, health care providers and first responders will be in attendance when Colorado hosts the Arizona Coyotes. For some members of the squad, it will be the first time that they will get to play in front of the Avalanche faithful.
"It's really exciting, I mean especially for myself I haven't gotten a chance to play in front of the Avs fans yet, so we are all super excited," said rookie Bowen Byram. "Definitely circling that date on our calendar."

NOTEWORTHY

Colorado will hit the halfway point of its season tonight. With a win, the Avs would have their third-highest points percentage at the midpoint (.679)
The Avalanche ranks first in the NHL in both shots per game (34.2) and shots against per game (24.9). The last NHL team to lead the league in both was the 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks.
Colorado has given up less than 10 shots in 16 of its last 17 regulation periods (18 of 19 including overtime), which included a streak of 13 consecutive periods (15 including OT) without allowing double-digits in shots from March 6-14.
The Avalanche's penalty kill ranks second in the NHL at 87.7 percent (71 for 81), which includes a current streak of 13 straight kills.
The Avs are 15-3-1 when scoring first this year, with their 15 wins tied for second in the NHL (Vegas Golden Knights, 16).
Gabriel Landeskog is expected to appear in his 659th career game tonight, tying Cody McLeod for the fourth-most games in an Avalanche sweater. Only Milan Hejduk (1020), Joe Sakic (870) and Adam Foote (760) have played more games since the team moved to Denver.
Nathan MacKinnon needs two goals for 200 in his career. When he hits it, he can become the eighth player in franchise history and fifth in Avalanche history to reach 200. He also needs one assist to pass Dale Hunter (322) for sole possession of seventh place in franchise history.

ONE TIMERS

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Bowen Byram on what he can learn from Samuel Girard: "I think he is really efficient. He uses his feet and his edges really well to evade pressure or find himself an open passing lane, whatever it may be. I think it was good for me to kind of get to watch him for a few games in a row there. I mean, he's unbelievable. Just try to take little things from his game. Like I said, I definitely think he is one of the most underrated guys in the league and he's definitely proven that this year, he's been playing really well. Definitely a great guy to learn from for myself."
Brandon Saad on his line's recent play: "I think we are just playing more consistent. There's stretches where we have some lapses or we have some breakdowns and our attention to details not there, but I think night in and night out we have been focused and playing well in a checking role in the defensive zone, which leads to better offense."
Head coach Jared Bednar on Greg Pateryn and Dan Renouf:"They've given us some valuable minutes both on 5-on-5 and on the penalty kill. Both guys chipping in on the offensive side of it a little bit too, making some plays and then doing what they do best on the defending side of it. Our scoring chance suppression has been real good, and they are a big part of that."