Two struggling teams will be on the Pepsi Center ice Tuesday night when the Avalanche and Calgary Flames meet.
Here are the game notes.
The Avalanche (3-7-1) are last in the Central Division, have gone 1-5-1 in their past seven games, and are better on the road (2-3-0) than at home (1-4-1).
The Flames (3-8-1) are sixth in the Pacific Division. They've gone 2-7-1 in their past 10 games and also have a better road record (2-3-1) than at home (1-5-0). John Mitchell didn't skate Tuesday morning and won't play against the Flames because of an oblique injury. Coach Patrick Roy said Mitchell is day to day and shouldn't be out too long.
It's why the Avalanche called up Ben Street from San Antonio of the AHL, where he had three goals and nine assists in six games. He'll center a line with Dennis Everberg and Jack Skille.
"I think everyone's happy with how we're playing down there," Street said of the Rampage, who have a 5-0-1 record. "Production wise it's going pretty good. It seems like a lot of stuff is going in for us right now."
Maybe some of Street's good vibes will be infectious?
"That's the hope for sure, that my stick stays hot up here," said Street, who plans to bring some energy to the Avalanche game. "It's a team right now that's trying to get its confidence back. They have been playing pretty good, but it seems like they find ways to lose games. I think a lot of that comes with confidence, the realization that you know you're going to win when you have the lead.
"It's in this room, it just might not be in the forefront right now. I guess with me coming up it may be a blast of energy. With our line, that's what we have to provide -- play the right way, don't give anything up. If we can chip something in too, that would be a huge help. The hot stick is here, hoping it stays hot. I feel like my game's pretty good right now. I'm excited and ready to go."
Roy said he was told that Street has been the Rampage's best player. Andrew Agozzino has five goals and four asissts in four games but is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
"Right now we need a center," Roy said. "I like the fact that (Street) wants to bring energy, that will be good for our team."
Speaking of the Rampage, goalie Calvin Pickard was named the AHL's Goalie of the Month for October. He went 5-0-1 in six games with a 1.79 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.
Here's the Avalanche lineup for Tuesday (Matt Duchene and Carl Soderberg will alternate between center and right wing on the second line; Nate Guenin and Nikita Zadorov will be scratched):
FORWARDS Alex Tanguay - Nathan MacKinnon - Jarome Iginla Gabriel Landeskog - Matt Duchene - Carl Soderberg Cody McLeod - Mikhail Grigorenko - Blake Comeau Dennis Everberg - Ben Street - Jack Skille
DEFENSE Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie Brandon Gormley - Brad Stuart
GOALIES Semyon Varlamov Reto Berra