Both Colorado and Minnesota will make changes up front for tonight’s huge Game 7 at the Pepsi Center.
The Avs will return rookie Joey Hishon to the lineup after he sat Game 6, Patrick Roy confirmed. The 17th overall pick at the ’10 draft, who made his NHL debut in Game 4, will reportedly center the third line between Max Talbot and Jamie McGinn, and it’s possible Brad Malone could be the odd man out.
Hishon, 22, played just 6:31 for Colorado in Game 4 and 7:30 in Game 45. He did see extended minutes on the power play, though, and could be used tonight to help the Avs bust out of a slump that’s seen them score just once on their last 18 opportunities with the man advantage.
Minnesota is going in a bit of a different direction with its change up front, as 32-year-old veteran Stephane Veilleux will draw in. Veilleux, who hasn’t dressed since appearing in the opening two games of the series, is being inserted in place of Justin Fontaine, and the hope is he’ll bring some energy, speed and aggressive forechecking to the Wild lineup, per head coach Mike Yeo.
Veilleux appeared in 34 games for the Wild during the regular season, scoring three goals while averaging 8:26 TOI per night.