Nichushkin missed Tuesday's game vs. the Islanders and did not travel to Arizona for Thursday's game vs. the Coyotes. Alex Newhook will remain on the wing in the Avs' top-6 while Nichushkin is out.
Kiviranta missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but is set to play Wednesday vs. the Kings. Kiviranta, who has just one goal and three assists (four points) in 42 games this season, will skate on a line with Jacob Peterson and Alexander Radulov.
Olofsson missed Wednesday's game in Montreal but will be back in the lineup in St. Louis. Olofsson will skate on a line with Casey Mittelstadt and Peyton Krebs and comes in with just four points (2G / 2A) in his last 16 games.
MacKinnon missed Wednesday's game in Detroit with a "minor" lower-body injury but will play Friday vs. the Jets. MacKinnon will be back on the top line and top power-play unit and comes in with 24 points (9G / 15A) in 19 games since the beginning of January.
According to head coach Jared Bednar, MacKinnon's lower-body injury is "minor," so he could be back for Friday's game vs. the Jets.
Merkley plaid in two straight games, failing to register a point while playing 14:40 TOI/gm. Merkley will be replaced by Radim Simek.
Olofsson was not on the ice for Tuesday's practice and will not travel to Montreal for Wednesday's game. Casey Mittelstadt moved to the wing in practice to replace Olofsson.
Merkley has only played once in the last five games but will replace Radim Simek in the lineup on Thursday. Merkley has scored one goal with one assist in 15 games with the Sharks, playing primarily on the third pair and second power-play unit.
MacKinnon missed four games with a broken nose and a concussion he suffered on January 26th but is set to play on Sunday. MacKinnon, who has nine goals and 34 assists (43 points) in 31 games this season, will be back on the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog.
Ahcan will suit up for his third game of the season, replacing Matt Grzelcyk, who is out with an upper-body injury that he suffered on Thursday. Ahcan has spent most of the year in Providence (AHL), where he has 19 points (5G / 14A) in 31 games.
