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.
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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