Avalanche vs. Devils, Game 59: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Colorado Avalanche will not get Cale Makar back on Wednesday night, but they might have a new face in the lineup.

Lars Eller, acquired this morning from Washington, has a chance to play against the Devils.

“He’ll get to Denver today,” Jared Bednar said after morning skate. “They’re working on flights. There’s a chance (he plays).”

If he does play, that will change the lines and lineup, but we won’t know until closer to game time.

Meanwhile, Makar will miss his fourth consecutive game due to a head injury. He’s been taking contact at practice, but hasn’t given the coaching staff the word that he feels ready to play in a game yet.

In net will be Justus Annunen. The 22 year old goaltender will make his second start of the season, and the third of his career.

“He’s played really well for the Eagles,” Bednar said. “And I think that we’ve seen growth in his game and we obviously have high hopes for his future. We feel like he gives us a good chance to win right now.”

For the Devils, they made a big move a few days ago, acquiring Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks. Meier, however, will not play against the Avalanche, as he’s been dealing with a minor injury. The Devils currently sit second in the Metro Division with 83 points.

This will be the second and final matchup between the two teams this season. The Devils won the only other game between them by a score of 1-0 back in October.

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

Justus Annunen

Alexandar Georgiev

Expected New Jersey Devils Lines, per TheMorningPuck.com

Tomas Tatar – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Yegor Sharangovich – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt

Ondrej Palat – Erik Haula – Jesper Boqvist

Miles Wood – Michael McLeod – Nathan Bastian

Defense

Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton

Ryan Graves – John Marino

Kevin Bahl – Damon Severson

Goaltenders

Vitek Vanecek

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 23%, 9th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 77.8%, 18th in NHL

New Jersey Devils Power Play: 20.5%, 18th in NHL

New Jersey Devils Penalty Kill: 81.5%, 10th in NHL

How to Watch

TV: ESPN+, Altitude TV, MSGS

Radio: 92.5 Altitude Sports Radio

Game Time: 7:00 PM MST