Avalanche’s Samuel Girard to return to lineup vs. Oilers

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard is set to return to action on Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers, according to multiple Avs’ beat reporters.

Sam Girard is back tonight.

— Meghan Angley (@megangley) January 16, 2025

Girard had missed the past three games with an upper-body injury. It’s unclear what the cause of the injury was, but he was announced as a late scratch on January 9th against the Minnesota Wild, and has been day-to-day since then. The Avalanche went 2-1-0 during his absence.

According to Daily Faceoff’s projected lineup, Girard will be slotting back onto his usual spot on the second pair alongside Josh Manson. The duo have been outscored 20-15 and have a 47.39% expected goal share in 323:12 of ice time together.

Girard has 2 goals and 16 assists for 18 points in 42 games played this season, a 33-point pace that matches his usual career performances. Despite a 49.18% 5v5 xG% that would indicate some struggles to drive play, some of that has been due to playing with Manson, as Girard sees that jump up a bit more to 50.99% away from Manson.

Girard was a second-round pick for the Nashville Predators in the 2016 NHL Draft, making his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season and playing just 5 games before he was dealt to the Avalanche as a part of the three-team trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Predators. He’s since gone on to spend the past eight seasons in Colorado, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2022.

Girard is currently in the fifth year of a seven-year contract with a $5 million cap hit.

Sam Malinski will draw out of the lineup with the return of Girard. He has 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in 45 games played with the Avalanche this season.

The Avalanche currently sit in fourth place in the Central Division with a 27-17-1 record, good enough for the first wild card spot in the Western Conference. They’ll look to build off of Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win over the New York Rangers when they host the Oilers today at 7:30 MST.