Eurolanche

Varlamov back in goal for Avs vs Jets

Season series: The Colorado Avalanche have won their first three games against the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado scored three times in the third period of a 4-1 win at Winnipeg on Nov. 23. Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and two assists in Colorado's 5-3 home win Nov. 28, and goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves in a 2-1 win at Winnipeg on Jan. 18.

Jets team scope: Winnipeg plays eight of its remaining 10 games this month on the road after a 1-5-0 homestand. Coach Paul Maurice has not confirmed whether goaltender Michael Hutchinson will start after he replaced starter Connor Hellebuyck in the first period of a 5-3 home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Hutchinson has not started a game since Jan. 3. The Jets trailed 4-0 midway through the first period and played catch-up for the rest of the night, something captain Andrew Ladd said can't happen again. "We understand now, or should understand now, what needs to happen from the get-go, right from the drop of the puck for our team to be successful, and that's moving and being on the puck," he said. Winnipeg's nine road wins are tied for the second-fewest in the NHL. Rookie forward Nikolaj Ehlers has a six-game point streak (four goals, four assists). A two-game road trip ends against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.

Avalanche team scope: Varlamov will start for the first time since Jan. 23, coach Patrick Roy said Friday. Roy will also move center John Mitchell to a line with Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay in an attempt to spark the two veteran wings. Iginla has one assist in his past seven games; Tanguay has one assist in his past five. "They had some good momentum together earlier in the season that will create a bit of a spark for [each] of [Iginla and Tanguay] and help them to play to a certain level," Roy said. Colorado is 0-1-1 in its first two games after the All-Star break and finishes a four-game homestand against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

-- by Patrick Williams for NHL.com --