Minnesota’s goaltending depth chart will have a decidedly different look tonight against Colorado -- with Devan Dubnyk out with a minor groin strain, it’s Darcy Kuemper ascending to the No. 1 job while Niklas Backstrom dresses as the Wild’s backup netminder for the first time this season.
Kuemper, who came on in relief of Dubnyk in Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Avs -- stopping all nine shots to preserve the shutout -- has always fared well against Colorado. He’s a perfect 3-0-0 in his career, with a .949 save percentage and 1.30 GAA.
For the Avs, Semyon Varlamov gets the call in goal.
Elsewhere...
-- Looks to be a battle of the backups in Boston: Nashville has confirmed that Carter Hutton will give Pekka Rinne the night off, while the Bruins look as though they’re going with Jonas Gustavsson.
-- Ryan Miller will face his former team as the Sabres make their way into Vancouver. Buffalo played last night in Edmonton and Chad Johnson was in goal, so it’s likely Linus Ullmark will go against the Canucks.