The Avalanche will use the same lineup against Florida on Saturday that they did Thursday in a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay, which means seven defensemen will suit up while forwards
Nail Yakupov and
Gabriel Bourque will be scratched along with defenseman
Duncan Siemens.
Here are the
GAME NOTES.
The Avalanche have lost four games in a row and have been outscored 26-12 during a 1-5-1 stretch that has dropped them to 12-13-2 for the season.
The Avalanche have scored two regulation goals or fewer in those seven games and can't continue to rely almost solely on
Nathan MacKinnon, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) in this span. He has a point in 13 of the past 17 games (nine goals, 18 assists).
"We need to win this game," coach
Jared Bednar said. "We've got to put that together for 60 minutes, not just the competitiveness since I know our guys are trying and working hard."
Semyon Varlamov has been OK in his four starts since returning from an illness, stopping 108 of 119 shots for a .908 save percentage, but he has to be better the way these guys are scoring.
He's 5-3-0 in his career against Florida with a 2.75 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
Erik Johnson will play his 400th game with the Avalanche, the third most by a defenseman, trailing
Adam Foote (760) and
John-Michael Liles (523).
The Panthers (11-13-4) are 1-1-2 in their past four games while averaging 39.5 shots and allowing 37.5; they've scored 13 goals and permitted 14.
Goalie
Roberto Luongo (lower-body injury) is out, so
James Reimer gets the start. He has a 5-0-1 career record against Colorado with a 2.00 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. Forward
Aleksander Barkov (upper-body injury) also will miss the game.
*****
The Avalanche's top two picks in the 2017 draft, defensemen
Cale Makar and
Conor Timmins, were named to Hockey Canada's selection camp for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championships Dec. 26 -- Jan. 5 in Buffalo.
Makar has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 15 games at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Timmins has 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 27 games for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.
The Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alexander Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Sven Andrighetto -- Colin Wilson
DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth -- Tyson Barrie
Samuel Girard -- Mark Barberio
Anton Lindholm
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Jonathan Bernier
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