NEW YORK — Goalie Darcy Kuemper, who sustained an upper-body injury in a morning skate last week to begin the Avalanche’s five-game road trip, will return to the lineup and start in the final leg of the trip Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.
In a related move, Colorado reassigned rookie goalie Justus Annunen to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. Annunen, 21, came off the bench to make his NHL debut in Thursday’s 6-5 overtime loss at Ottawa and made his first career start in Saturday’s 7-5 win at Philadelphia.
Jonas Johansson will back up Kuemper against the Rangers, who defeated the Blackhawks 6-2 in Chicago on Tuesday and are riding a seven-game winning streak.