Avalanche vs. Stars, Game 60: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

Will the Colorado Avalanche ever get to play a game with their top five defensemen all dressed at the same time again? The universe doesn’t seem to want it to happen.

On Saturday, the Avalanche will get a big boost in the form of Cale Makar. The superstar defenseman declared that he’s ready to go after practice Friday, and he will be in the lineup against the Stars.

But the bad news is that Josh Manson will be out. Head coach Jared Bednar wouldn’t go as far as to say he would be week-to-week, but he will miss “some time” after he re-injured himself on Wednesday.

The other concern is the health of Valeri Nichushkin. He missed practice Friday due to illness, and Bednar was not sure if he would travel with the team or not. If he doesn’t play, expect Newhook or Malgin to move up in the lineup and Ben Meyers to step in on the fourth line.

Alexandar Georgiev should get the start in net.

The Avalanche will take on the Dallas Stars, who lead the Central Division. I asked Jack Johnson after practice on Friday what makes them difficult to play against.

“I think they have good size and speed,” Johnson said. “They forecheck really well. It’s something I noticed playing them this year. They’re a handful on the forecheck.”

The Stars sit six points ahead of the Avalanche in the standings, but have played three more games, making this matchup even more important. All-Star Jason Robertson leads the Stars with 35 goals and 76 points.

This is the third of four matchups between the two teams this season. Colorado won both games in regulation in November. They will play one more time in April at Ball Arena.

Expected Colorado Avalanche Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Valeri Nichushkin

Evan Rodrigues – J.T. Compher – Mikko Rantanen

Andrew Cogliano – Lars Eller – Logan O’Connor

Matt Nieto – Alex Newhook – Denis Malgin

Defense

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Samuel Girard – Bowen Byram

Jack Johnson – Brad Hunt

Goalies

Alexandar Georgiev

Keith Kincaid

Expected Dallas Stars Lines, per DailyFaceoff.com

Jason Robertson – Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski

Jamie Benn – Wyatt Johnston – Evgenii Dadonov

Mason Marchment – Max Domi – Tyler Seguin

Fredrik Olofsson – Radek Faksa – Ty Dellandrea

Defense

Miro Heiskanen – Joel Hanley

Esa Lindell – Jani Hakanpaa

Ryan Suter – Nils Lundkvist

Goaltenders

Jake Oettinger

Special Teams

Colorado Avalanche Power Play: 22.9%, 9th in NHL

Colorado Avalanche Penalty Kill: 77.5%, 19th in NHL

Dallas Stars Power Play: 23.3%, 8th in NHL

Dallas Stars Penalty Kill: 83.2%, 3rd in NHL

How to Watch

TV: ESPN+, ABC

Radio: 92.5 Altitude Sports Radio

Game Time: 1:30 PM MST