Game 1 Projected Lineup: Avalanche vs. Coyotes

The Colorado Avalanche opens its 34th playoff series since the franchise moved to Denver this afternoon as the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes in Game 1 of the First Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place.

Avs head coach Jared Bednar said following Tuesday's practice that he will have all 31 players that are in Edmonton, Alberta, at his disposal for the 3:30 p.m. MT contest.

Bednar did not give any details on what his lineup will look like for the first outing of the best-of-seven series and with the Avalanche not holding a morning skate today as well, the club's exact alignment won't be known until closer to game time.

Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is expected to be in the crease at puck drop, though the Colorado bench boss hasn't publicly announced a starter. Grubauer played in two of the club's three contests in the Stanley Cup Qualifier round robin.

"I still consider him our starter based on what he's done and his short history with us," Bednar said of Grubauer following last Wednesday's game against the Dallas Stars. "You have to earn that title from me every day, and he continues to do that. He hasn't let us down on many occasions in the years he's been with us."

Below is the Avalanche's projected lineup for Game 1 based on the forward combinations and defensive pairings from its round-robin finale against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. They are subject to change.

Forwards
90 Vladislav Namestnikov - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 91 Nazem Kadri - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
95 Andre Burakovsky - 37 J.T. Compher - 72 Joonas Donskoi
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 11 Matt Calvert

Defensemen
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
16 Nikita Zadorov - 28 Ian Cole

Goaltenders
31 Philipp Grubauer
39 Pavel Francouz

The Arizona Coyotes will be playing their first game in four days after closing out their qualifying-round series against the Nashville Predators in overtime on Friday.

Head coach Rick Tocchet said the time between contests helped his club rest up and heal the bumps and bruises it sustained in that four-contest set. The Coyotes should have the same personnel available to them against the Avalanche as they had against the Preds.

Forward Nick Schmaltz and goaltender Antti Raanta are the only Arizona players currently unfit to play, but both are in the process of getting healthy. Tocchet on Tuesday said that Schmaltz practiced and is feeling better every day. He wasn't sure if the center would play in Game 1 but noted that it is a possibility if he continues to progress as he has.

Tocchet said that Raanta won't dress for Wednesday's outing and Adin Hill will continue to backup starter Darcy Kuemper.

Below is Arizona's projected lineup for Game 1, courtesy of ArizonaCoyotes.com.

Forwards
91 Taylor Hall - 18 Christian Dvorak - 81 Phil Kessel
9 Clayton Keller - 21 Derek Stepan - 83 Conor Garland
67 Lawson Crouse - 34 Carl Soderberg - 36 Christian Fischer
40 Michael Grabner - 15 Brad Richardson - 13 Vinnie Hinostroza

Defensemen
23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson - 55 Jason Demers
33 Alex Goligoski - 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson
6 Jakob Chychrun - 82 Jordan Oesterle

Goaltenders
35 Darcy Kuemper
31 Adin Hill