Avalanche’s Artturi Lehkonen to return to lineup against Jets
Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar announced on Thursday that Artturi Lehkonen will be returning to the lineup for their game against the Winnipeg Jets.
#Avs HC Jared Bednar says F Artturi Lehkonen will return to the lineup tonight vs #NHLJets Nic Roy remains out with injury.
Lehkonen has missed the last 11 games due to an upper-body injury, which has kept him out of the lineup since before the trade deadline. Despite his absence, the Avalanche continued their consistent success this season and went 7-3-1 while he was out.
When healthy, Lehkonen has produced at his usual rate since joining the Avalanche, as he has 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 59 games. He also had two goals and four assists for six points in six games at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy on route to winning a bronze medal with Finland.
Based on the lines run during the Avalanche morning skate, Lehkonen is set to skate alongside Nazem Kadri and Logan O’Connor on the third line. This trio has obviously yet to play together this season, as Kadri joined the team after Lehkonen’s injury, and only spent a total of 1:45 together during the only other time all three forwards would have crossed paths during the 2021-22 season.
Based on the lines, Zakhar Bardakov will draw out of the lineup to make room for Lehkonen. Bardakov has one goal and nine assists for 10 points in 56 games this season.
Bednar also announced that Nicolas Roy remains out with an upper-body injury. He’s missed Tuesday’s 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins as a result of the injury so far. He has eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 68 games this season, including three goals in nine games with the Avalanche.
The Avalanche currently sit in first place in the NHL with a 47-13-10 record. They’ll look to build on their three-game winning streak when they visit the Jets on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT.