Defenseman Eric Gelinas will make his season debut Saturday when the Avalanche meet the Florida Panthers to complete their four-game road trip.

Gelinas will replace Fedor Tyutin, who has a groin injury.

Here are the GAME NOTES.

Gelinas' booming shot could help an Avalanche power play that has gone 2-for-11 in the first three games of the trip, 0-for-5 in the past two games.

Acquired from New Jersey on Feb. 29 for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft, the 6-feet-4, 215-pound Gelinas played in six games with Colorado before missing the final 10 because of an elbow injury.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov will make his third consecutive start for the Avalanche (3-1-0) following a 27-save effort Thursday in a 4-0 win against Tampa Bay. He stopped 64 of 67 shots in the past two games.

Varlamov has a 5-2-0 career record against the Panthers with a 2.43 goals-against average and .923 save percentage.

Matt Duchene, who had his first three points (two goals, one assist) of the season Thursday, will play in his 500th NHL game Saturday.

Florida (2-1-1) has gone 0-1-1 in the past two games and is coming off a 4-2 loss to Washington on Thursday. The Panthers are 8-for-8 killing penalties this season.

Jaromir Jagr, 44, scored his 750th career goal Thursday. He's third on the all-time list behind Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801). He ranks sixth in assists (1,120) and third in points (1,870). Jagr has 21 goals and 28 assists in 42 career games against the Avalanche.

Goalie Roberto Luongo is sixth all time with 438 wins. He has a 21-17-5 record against the Avalanche with three shutouts, a 2.60 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

Expected Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Jarome Iginla
Mikhail Grigorenko -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Duchene
Andreas Martinsen -- Joe Colborne -- Blake Comeau
Gabriel Bourque -- Ben Smith -- Cody McLeod

DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson
Francois Beauchemin --Tyson Barrie
Eric Gelinas -- Patrick Wiercioch

GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard

Scratched: None
Injured: Rene Bourque (groin), John Mitchell (hip), Fedor Tyutin (groin)



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