Before tonight's game against the Nashville Predators, both Ross Colton and Mackenzie Blackwood are going to be returning.

Colton, who was listed as day-to-day yesterday (Jan 15) with an upper-body injury, was a game-time decision per head coach Jared Bednar during their morning skate, as he was the only player absent.

Though his availability was put into question, no one from the Colorado Eagles was initially called up, suggesting his status for tonight's game was super serious or that they really wanted to see if Colton could play and make a last-minute decision to call someone up.

The Avalanche had already had to call up a number of players from the Eagles, with numerous forwards currently injured. Ivan Ivan and Zahkar Bardakov, in place of Joel Kiviranta and Gabriel Landeskog, who are presently out week-to-week.

Most importantly, Blackwood is being activated from Injury Reserve and starting tonight, marking his first game since New Year's Eve against the St. Louis Blues, when he stopped 12 of 13 shots faced, helping them to a 6-1 victory. This is another boost for the Avalanche as they will now have their full goaltending tandem available, also known as the "Lumberyard."

Though Trent Miner, who was called up to help relieve Scott Wedgewood during his absence, showed an outstanding performance that should not only show confidence in the organziation but with the fans that if there would happen to be another injury to one of the goalies, Miner showed that despite the level of this team playing infront of him, he made some big plays either keeping the Avalanche in the lead to helping them stay within distance to tie the game and earn a point.

In the two games he played, he helped earn his first career win and shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets (Jan 10) and helped earn a point against the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime (Jan 12). The Avalanche play 10 more games before the Olympic break, six at home and four on the road.