Eurolanche

Erik Johnson won't play vs. Blues

Season series: Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves, and Jack Skille and John Mitchell scored in the first period to help the Colorado Avalanche defeat the St. Louis Blues 3-1 on Dec. 13. Vladimir Tarasenko scored a power-play goal for St. Louis.

Blues team scope: Captain David Backes missed his second practice in three days because of an upper-body injury, but he will play, coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's dealing with an upper-body ailment that'll keep him off of practice for the next week, but he'll be able to play the games, no problem," Hitchcock said. Backes sustained the injury in a 4-1 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Kyle Brodziak has regained his spot as the Blues' fourth-line center. Brodziak, who recently missed five games with a skate cut above his right knee, was scratched from a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Monday because the coaching staff thought he needed some more conditioning. "It's pretty simple. Since coming back, I don't think I've felt the greatest on the ice, and the coaches recognized it," Brodziak said. "It's just an opportunity to take a few days and get some good skates in, just try to get my legs back under me." Goalie Jake Allen will start.

Avalanche team scope: Defenseman Erik Johnson will not play after he sustained a lower-body injury Monday in a 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings. "It could be five, 10 days, 12 days ... short term," coach Patrick Roy told the Avalanche website. Colorado claimed defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. Bodnarchuk, 27, could make his Avalanche debut against the Blues. "With the injury to Brad Stuart (back), I think we just want to have some depth to our defense," Roy said. "That was the plan behind this. We believe that he's going to help us." Stuart has been out since Nov. 10. Varlamov will play against St. Louis. Jarome Iginla needs one goal to tie Jari Kurri for 18th in NHL history (601).

-- by Louie Korac for NHL.com --