The Colorado Avalanche rolled out their biggest lineup shake-up of the postseason for Monday's Game 4 against the Minnesota Wild, shaking things up after a tough 5-1 loss in Game 3. The headline move? Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood gets his first start in nearly a month after stepping in for Scott Wedgewood during that defeat.

On the blue line, the Avs got a major boost with veteran defenseman Josh Manson returning to action for the first time in the series. Manson had been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury in Game 3 of their first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. He and rookie Jack Ahcan replaced Nick Blankenburg and Sam Malinski, with Malinski scratched for the first time this postseason due to his own upper-body injury. Manson, a 12-year veteran, brings serious stability—he posted a career-best plus-42 rating during the regular season.

Up front, the Avalanche are missing first-line left wing Artturi Lehkonen, out with an upper-body injury. That pushed captain Gabriel Landeskog up to skate alongside superstar center Nathan MacKinnon. Valeri Nichushkin dropped down to the third line, centering Nazem Kadri, while Logan O'Connor moved up to join them. Ross Colton and Nicolas Roy slid up to the second line to flank center Brock Nelson. And Joel Kiviranta made his return after a five-game injury absence, taking O'Connor's old spot on the fourth line with center Jack Drury.

In goal, it's been a shared workload all season for Blackwood and Wedgewood, who actually split the William M. Jennings Trophy after the Avalanche posted the NHL's best goals-against average. Wedgewood had been perfect in the playoffs at 6-0 before allowing three goals in Game 3 and getting pulled early in the second period. Blackwood, meanwhile, has big-game experience—he started the entire first-round series against the Dallas Stars last year.

With the series tied and momentum shifting, the Avalanche are hoping these changes spark a turnaround on the road in St. Paul.