NHL: Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks - Source: Imagn — Avalanche lineup tonight: Colorado's projected lineup for game against Columbus Blue Jackets | April 3, 2025 (Imagn)

Avalanche lineup tonight: Colorado's projected lineup for game against Columbus Blue Jackets | April 3, 2025

Modified Apr 03, 2025 14:16 GMT

The Colorado Avalanche return to action on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. A vital showdown between two playoff hopes will take place in Columbus at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Colorado is 46-26-4 on the season and sits in the top three of their division. The Blue Jackets are 34-30-9, two points behind the last Eastern wild card.

Colorado has a few injuries to note today. Defensemen Josh Manson (upper body) and Sean Behrens are both out. Defenseman Tucker Pool (head) remains on injured reserve. Left wing Jonathan Drouin is day-to-day and is considered a game-time decision.

With that in mind, here's what the lineup should look like. Keep in mind that it can change ahead of puck drop tonight:

Forwards:

Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan Mackinnon - Jonathan Drouin
Valeri Nichushkin - Brock Nelson - Martin Necas
Jimmy Vesey - Charlie Coyle - Ross Colton
Parker Kelly - Jack Drury - Logan O'Connor

Defensive Pairs:

Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Ryan Lindgren - Sam Malinski
Samuel Girard - Erik Johnson

Goaltenders:

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Powerplay Units:

Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin, Martin Necas, Nathan Mackinnon, Cale Makar
Artturi Lehkonen, Charlie Coyle, Ross Colton, Devon Toews, Brock Nelson

Penalty Kill Lines:

Jack Drury, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews, Cale Makar
Charlie Coyle, Valeri Nichushkin, Ryan Lindgren, Samuel Girard

Colorado remains on the road and is on a back-to-back after a thrilling but costly shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Playing two days in a row is hard enough, but it's more challenging after an overtime and shootout period.

Odds for tonight's Avalanche contest and a look at the upcoming schedule

The Colorado Avalanche are favored to get a road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here are the official odds from Odds Shark:

Colorado is -192 on the moneyline.
The Blue Jackets are +153 to win outright.
The puck line is Colorado -1, which is +162.
The Blue Jackets are -154 to cover.
The total is 6.5 goals.
The over is -105, and the under is -115.

After Thursday's road matchup, Colorado has one more game in their penultimate three-game road trip. The Avs will visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday at 7:00 pm EDT.

The Avalanche are favored to win (Imagn)

Then, Colorado has two home games (against the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks) before a final two-game road trip to close the regular season.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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