1 OF 2 FORWARDS INJURED RETURNS
The Avalanche lost its fourth and fifth forwards to the injury list in Friday’s 7-0 loss at the Vegas Golden Knights but got one of them back for Saturday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. Rookie center Alex Kerfoot was cleared to play after he left in the third period in Las Vegas with a head injury.
Still, Colorado is hurting up front. For reinforcements, the Avs recalled forwards Rocco Grimaldi and Andrew Agozzino from the American Hockey League’s San Antonio Rampage.
Grimaldi, who scored a goal in the Rampage’s 3-1 victory over the visiting San Jose Barracuda on Friday, played right wing on the Matt Duchenecentered line, with left wing Sven Andrighetto. Because Kerfoot was cleared to play, Agozzino wasn’t needed in the lineup and did not play.
Avalanche forwards J.T. Compher (broken thumb) and Tyson Jost (lower-body) were placed on injured reserve Oct. 22, and Colin Wilson (hip) and Gabriel Bourque joined them on IR on Friday.
“D”-lemma. Defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras were healthy scratches for the Avalanche, allowing rookie Andrei Mironov to play in his second career NHL game — and first since opening night Oct. 5 in New York.
Zadorov, who last month was pegged to partner with Erik Johnson in the top pairing, was scratched for the second consecutive game. Zadorov appears deep in coach Jared Bednar’s doghouse, given that Colorado was playing the second game of a back-to-back set and in an “all-hands-on-deck” mode.
Footnotes. Johnson, the Avs’ ice-time leader, was bloodied late in the second period by the stick of Blackhawks forward Ryan Hartman, who received a double-minor for high-sticking. Colorado capitalized on the power play during the first minor. …. Chicago also was completing a consecutive-night stretch with travel. The Blackhawks fell to the visiting Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday. … Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dineen, a finalist for the Avalanche head coaching position before Bednar was hired in August 2016, celebrated his 54th birthday Saturday.