Coyotes at Avalanche

COYOTES (27-33-12) at AVALANCHE (41-23-6)

Coyotes projected lineup
Nick Schmaltz -- Barrett Hayton -- Clayton Keller
Matias Maccelli -- Jack McBain -- Lawson Crouse
Milos Kelemen -- Travis Boyd -- Christian Fischer
Liam O'Brien -- Laurent Dauphin -- Brett Ritchie
Juuso Valimaki -- Michael Kesselring
Patrik Nemeth -- J.J. Moser
Connor Mackey -- Victor Soderstrom
Karel Vejmelka
Connor Ingram
Scratched: Ivan Prosvetov
Injured: Josh Brown (lower body), Zack Kassian (upper body)
Avalanche projected lineup
Denis Malgin -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Alex Newhook -- J.T. Compher -- Valeri Nichushkin
Andrew Cogliano -- Lars Eller -- Logan O'Connor
Alex Galchenyuk -- Darren Helm -- Matt Nieto
Cale Makar -- Devon Toews
Samuel Girard -- Bowen Byram
Erik Johnson -- Jack Johnson
Alexandar Georgiev
Jonas Johansson
Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Brad Hunt
Injured: Gabriel Landeskog (knee), Pavel Francouz (lower body), Josh Manson (lower body), Artturi Lehkonen (finger), Evan Rodrigues (concussion protocol)
Status report
The Coyotes held an optional morning skate. ... Vejmelka will start for the second time in six games. ... Ritchie will be a game-time decision after missing a 4-3 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday because of an upper-body injury. ... Makar will return after missing two games with a lower-body injury. ... Johnson is back in the lineup after missing 19 games with a broken ankle. ... Georgiev is expected to make his 11th start in 12 games. ... Francouz, a goalie who has missed 19 games, has resumed skating but still doesn't have a timeline to return, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Friday.