Avalanche vs. Golden Knights, Game 58: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche will look to extend their winning streak to six games on Monday night, and they’ll try to do it with a new, yet familiar face in the lineup.

Jack Johnson, acquired from the Blackhawks on Sunday, will step right into the lineup against the Golden Knights. After morning skate, he spoke to the media for around eight minutes, and expressed his excitement to be back in town. Expect him to step in and play a big role on the penalty kill immediately.

One player the Avalanche will continue to play without is Cale Makar. The reigning Norris Trophy winner is feeling better as he recovers from a head injury, but has not been cleared for contact just yet. The team will also be without Kurtis MacDermid. Without those two, the Avalanche recalled Ben Meyers from the Eagles, and will go back to a traditional 12 forward, six defenseman setup.

Alexandar Georgiev is expected to get the start in net.

The Avalanche are red hot, but so are the Golden Knights. With 76 points, they sit atop the Western Conference, and are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games.

Monday night will mark the Golden Knights debut for Ivan Barbashev. Acquired on Sunday from St. Louis, the forward will be dropped immediately onto the top line for Vegas, playing alongside Jack Eichel.

This will be the final matchup between the two teams in the regular season. Colorado won the first game between the two teams back in October, while Vegas beat the Avalanche in Ball Arena in early January.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Valeri Nichushkin

Evan Rodrigues – J.T. Compher – Mikko Rantanen

Andrew Cogliano – Alex Newhook – Logan O’Connor

Matt Nieto – Ben Meyers – Denis Malgin

Defense

Devon Toews – Samuel Girard

Josh Manson – Bowen Byram

Jack Johnson – Brad Hunt

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Jonas Johansson

Expected Vegas Golden Knights Lines, per VegasHockeyNow.com

Ivan Barbashev- Jack Eichel- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith- William Karlsson- Michael Amadio

Will Carrier- Chandler Stephenson- Phil Kessel

Paul Cotter- Brett Howden- Keegan Kolesar

Defense

Alec Martinez- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague- Zach Whitecloud

Goaltenders

Adin Hill/Michael Hutchinson

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 23.1%, 9th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 77.7%, 19th in NHL

Vegas Golden Knights Power Play: 21.1%, 17th in NHL

Vegas Golden Knights Penalty Kill: 79.5%, 16th in NHL

How to Watch

TV: ESPN+, Altitude TV

Radio: 92.5 Altitude Sports Radio

Game Time: 7:00 PM MST