Projected lineups for Avlanche, Ducks
by Curtis ZupkeHere is the projected lineups for a game Sunday between the Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center:
AVALANCHE
Jamie McGinn – Matt Duchene – P.A. Parenteau
Gabriel Landeskog – Paul Stastny – David Jones
Cody McLeod – John Mitchell – Milan Hejduk
Aaron Palushaj – Mark Olver – Chuck Kobasew
Matt Hunwick – Ryan O’Byrne
Giguere is expected to start in the second game of a back-to-back sequence. He is 2-1 against the Ducks since he was traded from Anaheim to Toronto on Jan.31, 2010.
Colorado got captain Landeskog back from a head injury Saturday night but lost, 4-1, to the Los Angeles Kings. It is looking for a better game from its top players as McGinn, Duchene and Parenteau were a combined minus-9.
Stastny has only one goal in his past eight games.
DUCKS
Matt Beleskey – Ryan Getzlaf – Corey Perry
Bobby Ryan – Nick Bonino – Teemu Selanne
Andrew Cogliano – Saku Koivu – Daniel Winnik
Patrick Maroon – Peter Holland – Kyle Palmieri
Sheldon Souray – Francois Beauchemin
Fowler could return from what is believed to be a concussion that has kept him out of the lineup since Feb.2. Coach Bruce Boudreau said earlier this season that he will give Toni Lydman occasional days off on back-to-back sets so it's possible he could sit out. The Ducks play Monday at the Los Angeles Kings.
Boudreau didn’t say who will start in goal. Anaheim has had five days off so both Fasth and Hiller are rested. Hiller won Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. If Fasth (8-0-0) starts, it would be his first appearance since he signed a two-year, $5.8 million contract extension.
Beleskey seems to have grabbed the top line left wing spot after Boudreau tried Palmieri, Winnik and Emerson Etem there earlier this season. He has two goals and two assists in his past three games.
"He's finding those areas and he's putting the puck in the net," Getzlaf said this week. "Matty's always fit in okay. It’s just a matter of whether he’s burying the puck is what it comes down to. He skates. He hits. He does all those other things well. On our line, we need to be scoring on a fairly regular basis."
Maroon, Holland and Palmieri played on a line with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League last season so it was a natural fit when Maroon was recalled this month.