DENVER — The Avalanche's unstructured lineup turned into a polished parade Sunday, meaning the beer-league look might get another try Tuesday night at Minnesota.
The Avs used one less forward (11) and an extra defenseman (seven) in defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-0 at the Pepsi Center, with the line combinations and defensive pairings changing as the game went on.
"There's something about that that just kind of takes you out of your routine," Avs coach Jared Bednar said Monday.
Star center Nathan MacKinnon logged a team-high 22 minutes, 2 seconds Sunday, often playing with different wingers from shift to shift, and no defenseman reached 20 minutes of ice time, mostly because rookie blue-liner Ryan Graves was added to the mix.