Avalanche Adds Sparks To Lineup

The Colorado Avalanche is looking for a spark to help the club get back on track after dropping its last two contests, and it will look to Rocco Grimaldi and Duncan Siemens to provide that.
The forward Grimaldi and defenseman Siemens will play in tonight's contest at Pepsi Center against the Buffalo Sabres, the last outing of a five-game homestand for the Avs.
Siemens was recalled from the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League on Nov. 28 and will be playing in his first NHL game of the season after practicing with the club for the past week. Grimaldi was called up from the Rampage on Monday afternoon but has already played in five contests for Colorado this season.

Grimaldi has a goal and two assists in those games, which included competing with the team at the SAP NHL Global Series against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden, last month.
"Rocco is playing well. He came up here and gave us a spark last time," head coach Jared Bednar said. "Found a way to produce in a few games there. He was tenacious on pucks. I mean he works hard, he skates hard. He went down there and did the same thing and found a way to be productive, and we need a spark. We need to create a little bit more offensively. Got to put more pressure on the opposing team's D, and I think he can help us do that."

Playing with that type of energy is one of the strong suits of the 5-foot-6, 180-pound center, who will be on a line this evening with Sven Andrighetto and Colin Wilson.
"Usually when I get called up, I just want to come and play the best I can and work hard," Grimaldi said. "I'm a guy that hunts the puck and is go, go, go all the time. I just have to bring energy and bring speed, and hopefully the rest takes care of itself."
Siemens has played in four career NHL games with Colorado since he was picked No. 11 overall in the 2011 draft, including appearing in three contests late last season.

With a defense that is getting crowded with Patrik Nemeth close to returning from his injury and Chris Bigras, who was on the team's opening-night roster and has played in 15 games, recently sent down to San Antonio for more playing time, Siemens wants to show that he belongs in his present NHL stint.
"I think for me it's about making a statement every day. I'm fighting to stay," he said following today's morning skate. "I think with the depth that we have on the backend, there are a lot of D-men, everyone is competing for ice time. I think that is the best way to do it, and it brings the best out of everybody.

At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, the defender has an edge to his game. Siemens is third on the Rampage in penalty minutes with 29 and has chipped in a goal and two assists in 20 AHL contests this year. He had 100 penalty minutes in 73 games last season with San Antonio.
"We like the jam that he plays with. He has a little sandpaper to his game," Bednar said of Siemens. "He's hungry to prove that he belongs here. He had a good training camp. We've liked what we saw from him. We called him up at the end of last season and liked what we saw from him a little bit in training camp. We're willing to give guys opportunities. We're trying to get better and make sure that we have the best team on the ice, and he's part of that right now."

Siemens says his defensive approach to the game can help create chances for the Avs' more puck-moving blueliners in Tyson Barrie, Samuel Girard and Erik Johnson.
"I think [my game] can complement our more offensive guys a little bit," Siemens said. "Allow them to jump up a little bit quicker and get up there knowing that somebody will be there to cover them. As well as just bring some energy. We obviously have a young locker room, and energy is very important to our success and looking to bring that."
The Avalanche is 1-3-0 on its current homestand, its second longest of the season, and will go on the road for its next four games. It's opponents on the upcoming trip are some of the best in the league, with the clubs averaging 32 points in the standings.
Finishing off the home stretch with a victory and two points is vital for Colorado, and the club is looking for both Grimaldi and Siemens to help in achieving that.

WILSON RETURNS AND OTHER LINEUP NOTES

Forward Colin Wilson is back in the Avalanche's lineup this evening after missing the past three games with a lower-body injury. He will be on a line with Sven Andrighetto and Rocco Grimaldi.
"I think the last four, five games, I started feeling like myself out there and feeling like I was making the plays I can," Wilson said of his play before the injury. "I'm looking to build off that and that hasn't gone away. I'm just going to keep trying to contribute."
Wilson has five points (goal and four assists) in 16 contests this season. He has been slowed at times by injuries, as he missed six games with a hip ailment and was also out during some of training camp with an unspecified injury.
"It's not ideal. It's not your ideal situation, but you have to make the best of it," Wilson said of battling back after being on the training table. "I've been playing for a few years [in the NHL] so I know how to get back and get acclimated to the speed pretty quickly. I'm excited to get back out there."

The addition of Wilson and Grimaldi in the lineup means that Gabriel Bourque will be the odd-man out. He'll join Gabriel Landeskog, who is serving the fourth and final game of a suspension, this evening as the healthy scratch forwards.
Mark Barberio will be scratched on defense, giving way to Duncan Siemens.
Semyon Varlamov will play for the fourth straight game, making his third start in net for Colorado during that time.

PROJECTED LINEUP

J.T. Compher - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost - Alex Kerfoot - Nail Yakupov
Blake Comeau - Carl Soderberg - Matt Nieto
Sven Andrighetto - Colin Wilson - Rocco Grimaldi
Samuel Girard - Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov - Duncan Siemens
Anton Lindholm - Tyson Barrie
Semyon Varlamov
Jonathan Bernier