NEWS: Bowen Byram OUT Against Kings; Francouz Returns Sunday

The Colorado Avalanche are already down Cale Makar and Josh Manson on the blueline for a big game against the Los Angeles Kings, but now they’ll be without Bowen Byram.

Per Kyle Fredrickson, Byram will miss Saturday night’s game with an illness. He’ll be replaced in the lineup by Brad Hunt.

With the Dallas Stars winning on Saturday afternoon, the game against the Kings is of great importance in the standings. The Avalanche need to win to keep pace with the Stars, as the Stars currently hold the tiebreaker (regulation wins) if both teams finished with the same amount of points. Now they’ll need to do it without Byram, who averaged more than 23 minutes in the previous two games without Makar.

There was no immediate word if Byram would be available tomorrow against the Ducks.

The good news, however, is that Pavel Francouz will return to the lineup on Sunday. Not only will he dress, but he will start against the Ducks. He has not played a game since Feb. 7 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Stay tuned to CHN if anything else changes for the Avalanche, and for post-game coverage.