Eurolanche

Landeskog, surging Avs host Blackhawks

Season series: The Colorado Avalanche ended Patrick Kane's point streak at 26 games by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 at United Center on Dec. 15. Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season, 19th of his career and third against the Blackhawks. Forward Matt Duchene, defenseman Zach Redmond and forward Gabriel Landeskog scored for Colorado, and center Nathan MacKinnon had two assists.

Blackhawks team scope: Chicago reassigned defenseman David Rundblad, who cleared waivers Tuesday, to Rockford of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Goalie Corey Crawford is expected to start for the Blackhawks, which would be his ninth straight start. Backup Scott Darling hasn't started since allowing four goals in a 5-1 loss at the Nashville Predators on Dec. 10 and has made two starts since Nov. 28. Chicago is looking to sweep a two-game road trip and build off its best offensive performance of the season in a 7-5 win at the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. After going 3-for-4 on power plays against the Coyotes, the Blackhawks's 23.3-percent success rate on power plays ranked fourth in the NHL. "The last few games [before Tuesday], we hadn't really had many [power-play] opportunities, so sometimes you get out of sync," Kane said. "It's one of those things, if you're struggling to score goals and you have that power play to rely on, then it can come up huge and maybe get guys feeling it a little bit more too."

Avalanche team scope: Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog will play despite a swollen left cheek after getting hit with a puck in the Avalanche's 6-3 win at the San Jose Sharks on Monday. He told the Denver Post on Wednesday there are no fractures. "I'm good to go," Landeskog said. "We put a bigger visor on just for, really, my own safety for the next couple games. We'll see how that feels, but it feels fine [now]. It's just superficial [injuries] right now and it doesn't bother me." Varlamov will start in net after getting a rest against the Sharks. Varlamov is backed by his career statistics against Chicago. In 15 career appearances against the Blackhawks, Varlamov is 11-3-0 with a 1.80 goals-against average, .949 save percentage and three shutouts. That will be the only lineup change for Colorado, 10-4-1 in its past 15 games and steadily climbing into the race for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot in the Western Conference.

-- by Brian Hedger for NHL.com --