Tyson Barrie injured, and Bednar makes puzzling lineup moves with forwards

Well, the Avalanche got through two games on the season with a fully healthy roster, at least.

A third straight game won’t happen, as defenseman Tyson Barrie will miss Tuesday’s game with the first-place Nashville Predators because of a lower-body injury. The Avs say he is day-to-day with the ailment, nothing long-term. 

Mark Barberio will replace Barrie in the lineup. It remains to be seen who will play alongside Ian Cole (Barrie’s normal defensive partner). Barrie seemed to be hobbled a bit in the Avs’ last game, against Dallas. He seemed a step slower than usual.

In other personnel moves, Avs coach Jared Bednar said he will give forwards Vladislav Kamenev and Sheldon Dries the night off as healthy scratches, and replace them with Sven Andrighetto and Gabriel Bourque.

That’s a bit puzzling, as Kamenev and Dries have both contributed well of late, to a team that has won four in a row. Bourque has yet to score a goal on the season, while Andrighetto can’t seem to cement a place in the lineup, either because of injuries or because of inconsistent play.

To add my editorial opinion here: I don’t like the move of benching Kamenev at all. He gives the Avs not only good size against a big, strong Predators team, but he’s better defensively than either Andrighetto or Bourque and can win some faceoffs.

I get it, that Bednar doesn’t want guys growing stale on the sidelines. But do you really want to tinker that much with a lineup that has been scoring goals at a rapid pace of late, just to be a nice guy to players that haven’t played in a while?

Now, if Andrighetto and Bourque score goals and the Avs win tonight? Then “Bednar is a genius” will be our headline.

But I have a feeling this could be a long night for the Avs in Smashville.