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The 26-year-old has seven points, 67 shots on net, 42 hits and a minus-4 rating through 36 contests between the two teams this season, and he's mainly played in a bottom-six role with the Avalanche.... See Less Avalanche's Artturi Lehkonen: Strikes early Tuesday Lehkonen scored a goal on four shots, doled out four hits and added two PIM in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning. Lehkonen came into Tuesday with a five-game point drought. That slump came to a close just 50 seconds into the game as he converted on a feed from Nathan MacKinnon. Lehkonen maintained his place on the top line even during the dry spell -- his strong two-way play makes him a great fit in that role. The winger is up to 16 goals, 35 points, 116 shots on net, 68 hits, 22 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 49 outings this season....
The 31-year-old was last in the lineup Dec. 1.... See More... See Less Avalanche's Valeri Nichushkin: Not 100 percent? Nichushkin took a maintenance day Monday then did not participate in Tuesday's morning skate before Colorado's shootout loss to Tampa Bay that night, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now reports. The Avalanche insist Nichushkin is fine after missing 11 of 16 games due to ankle and upper-body injuries, but Rawal believes he's not operating at 100 percent. Rawal cites diminished burst and not skating at a level the forward showed early in the season. In total, Nichushkin has missed 28 of 52 contests, including a lower-body injury that cost him time from late October to early December.... See Less Avalanche's Alexandar Georgiev: Expected to start Wednesday Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said Georgiev will start Wednesday against the Wild, Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now reports.
See Less Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon: One of each Tuesday MacKinnon scored a goal on seven shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning. This was MacKinnon's second straight multi-point effort after he tagged the Panthers for three points Saturday. The 27-year-old has four goals and five helpers over his last seven appearances -- he's cooled down a bit after an impressive stretch in mid-January, but not by much. The superstar center is up to 17 tallies, 60 points, 215 shots and a plus-15 rating through 41 contests.... See Less Avalanche's Alexandar Georgiev: Takes shootout loss Georgiev allowed three goals on 35 shots in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning. Georgiev tasted defeat for just the second time in his last seven outings. The 27-year-old put in a solid effort, but he let a couple of leads slip away and gave up the only shootout tally to Steven Stamkos.
See Less Avalanche's Josh Manson: Still possible for Wednesday Manson (lower body) may play Wednesday versus the Wild, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports. Getting a player back would be good for the Avalanche's defense, which has been tested by injuries lately. Manson hasn't played since Dec. 1, but he'd likely be able to fill a bottom-four role. If he's activated from injured reserve prior to Wednesday's contest, that would be a good indication that he'll play.... See Less Avalanche's Cale Makar: Ruled out for Wednesday Makar (head) won't play Wednesday versus the Wild, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports. Makar's next chance to play will be Saturday versus the Blues.
The 24-year-old defenseman is set for a fourth straight absence, though head coach Jared Bednar added that Josh Manson (lower body) could be an option to play Wednesday, which would help the Avalanche's injury-riddled defense.... See Less Avalanche's Pavel Francouz: Set for extended absence Frnacouz (lower body) is expected to miss multiple weeks, Avalanche freelance writer Adrian Dater reports. Francouz was hurt before Saturday's game versus the Panthers, and now his absence will keep him out likely for the rest of February at a minimum. This likely means a heavy workload is on the way for Alexandar Georgiev, as Jonas Johansson's numbers in his NHL career are not impressive and could hurt the Avalanche's push to obtain and keep a playoff spot.... See Less Avalanche's Erik Johnson: Will miss multiple weeks Johnson (lower body) will be out for multiple weeks, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports.
Bednar simply responded "yeah" when asked after Tuesday's shootout loss to Tampa Bay if Georgiev would start Wednesday. Back-to-backs are not ideal, but the Avalanche are operating without backup netminder Pavel Francouz. This will be the first back-to-back this season for Georgiev.... See Less Avalanche's Ben Meyers: Back in AHL Meyers was reassigned to AHL Colorado following Tuesday's game versus the Lightning. Meyers may not be recalled for Wednesday's game versus the Wild -- Josh Manson (lower body) may instead be activated from injured reserve. If that's the case, the Avalanche would likely deploy seven defensemen.... See Less Avalanche's Bowen Byram: Pockets helper Tuesday Byram notched an assist, four hits and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning. Byram has a helper in three of four games since returning from a lower-body injury that cost him 38 games.
Georgiev is now at 21-12-4 with a 2. 68 GAA and a. 918 save percentage through 37 contests. After the game, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reported head coach Jared Bednar was leaning towards starting Georgiev again Wednesday on the road in Minnesota. With Pavel Francouz (lower body) out of action, Georgiev will likely see a heavier workload, though the Avalanche's schedule is heavy on back-to-back sets for the rest of the month. Jonas Johansson will likely be called on for at least one start during his time with the big club, but Bednar clearly wants his top netminder to play more with the Avalanche in a battle for playoff positioning....
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