Goalie
Semyon Varlamov will make his second consecutive start when the Avalanche play Tampa Bay on Thursday in the third game of their four-game road trip.
Varlamov was one of the few bright spots -- maybe the only one -- Tuesday in Washington. He made 37 saves in the Avalanche's 3-0 loss to the Capitals.
Here are the
GAME NOTES.
The
Denver Post reported that
Ben Smith will return to the lineup as the fourth-line center; it will be his 200th NHL game.
Rene Bourque will sit out because of a groin injury.
The Avalanche (2-1-0) have allowed the first two goals in each of the first three games, and they've allowed two power-play goals in each game.
Varlamov has an 8-3-2 career record against the Lightning with one shutout, a 2.32 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
Denver-born
Ben Bishop will start in goal for Tampa Bay (3-0-0), which is completing a four-game homestand. He has a 3-2-0 record against the Avalanche with two shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
The expected Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Jarome Iginla
Mikhail Grigorenko -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Duchene
Andreas Martinsen -- Joe Colborne -- Blake Comeau
Cody McLeod -- Ben Smith -- Gabriel Bourque
DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson
Francois Beauchemin -- Tyson Barrie
Fedor Tyutin -- Patrick Wiercioch
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Eric Gelinas
Injured: Rene Bourque (groin), John Mitchell (hip, not on trip)
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
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