Eurolanche

Avalanche against Carolina

The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche split their two games last season, with each team winning on home ice. In their most recent game, Nov. 12, 2013 in Carolina, the line of Jordan Staal, Nathan Gerbe and Patrick Dwyer combined for both Hurricanes goals in a 2-1 win. When they last played in Colorado, on Oct. 25, 2013, Matt Duchene had two goals and one assist in a 4-2 Avalanche win.

Avalanche (6-9-5)

Colorado will be without two forwards and its No. 1 goaltender Saturday. Forward Alex Tanguay is out indefinitely with a facial fracture sustained when he was hit in the face by a shot from Washington Capitals' captain Alex Ovechkin on Thursday. "Alex texted me and said he will be back as soon as he can," coach Patrick Roy said. Tanguay leads the Avalanche with seven goals.

Also Thursday, forward Dennis Everberg sustained a separated shoulder on a third-period hit by the Capitals' Tom Wilson. "He'll be out for a while," Roy said. Semyon Varlamov will miss a second straight game because of a groin injury. Reto Berra, who allowed three goals on 23 shots against the Capitals, will be in goal Saturday.

Hurricanes (6-10-3)

Carolina will try to get back in the win column as it hits the midpoint of its five-game road trip. After winning 6-4 at the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, a goal by Tanner Pearson early in the second left the Hurricanes on the wrong side of a 3-2 game against the Los Angeles Kings. Saturday could be the first game with the Hurricanes for forward Andrej Nestrasil, who was claimed off waivers Thursday from the Detroit Red Wings. A 2009 third-round pick (No. 75) of the Red Wings, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound center had two assists in 13 NHL games. Last season he had 16 goals and 36 points in 70 games with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League.

-- by Adam Kimelman for NHL.com --