Eurolanche

Wild go for fourth shutout vs Avs

Season series: The Minnesota Wild have shut out the Colorado Avalanche in each of their three games in 2014-15. Darcy Kuemper had back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of the season for each team, and Devan Dubnyk blanked the Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center three weeks ago. Wild forward Zach Parise leads all scorers with four points (two goals, two assists).

Wild team scope: Minnesota did not practice Friday after defeating the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena, the fourth regulation loss at home for Nashville this season. The Wild placed forward Stephane Veilleux on waivers, opening up a second roster spot if needed. Veilleux has one goal and one assist in 12 games with Minnesota this season, but he was a healthy scratch Thursday after the team traded for Sean Bergenheim. With the NHL Trade Deadline approaching on Monday, the Wild have two open spots on their roster, allowing them a little more freedom.

Avalanche team scope: Colorado overcame a 3-1 third-period deficit in a 5-4 shootout win against the Dallas Stars on Friday at American Airlines Center. Ryan O'Reilly scored the only goal in the shootout and goaltender Semyon Varlamov was perfect in the tiebreaker. Varlamov has started each of Colorado's 13 games since the All-Star break, including back-to-back games earlier this month, and is the likely starter on Saturday. Varlamov is 0-3-0 against the Wild this season with a 3.10 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in those games.

 -- by Dan Myers for NHL.com --