Eurolanche

Avs, minus MacKinnon, visit Blue Jackets

Season series: Brandon Dubinsky had two goals and Scott Hartnell had two assists when the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Jan. 4 at Pepsi Center. Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for Colorado.

Avalanche team scope (28-25-11): Colorado attempt to make the Stanley Cup Playoff took a hit Friday when it was announced forward Nathan MacKinnon would miss the rest of the regular season with a fractured foot. MacKinnon had 38 points this season and hadn't missed a game in his two NHL seasons. "He had been playing through it for a few games," linemate Gabriel Landeskog told the Avalanche website. "We're all battling through something, and for Nate it ended up being worse than we thought, unfortunately." Colorado is nine points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card in the Western Conference. Forwards Joey Hishon, Daniel Briere and Mark-Andre Cliche will be in the lineup. The Avalanche are 11-12-8 on the road and begin a two-game trip; they visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. "Back-to-back on the road," Landeskog said. "It's a great opportunity for us to pick up some points."

Blue Jackets team scope (27-33-4): Dubinsky returned to the lineup Friday after missing three games with a concussion. He had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win at the New Jersey Devils but put the victory behind him quickly. "I think we're excited for the challenge obviously, an opportunity to go in front of our home building on a Saturday night, so it is going to be a fun one, but we're looking forward to it," he said. Columbus ended a seven-game losing streak with the win against the New Jersey Devils. The Blue Jackets have lost 413 man games to injury, the latest being forward David Clarkson, who played two games after being acquired in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs but will miss 4-6 weeks with a torn oblique muscle.

by David Satriano for -nhl.com-

Related Stories

Pens aim for fifth win om row, face Avs

The official game preview Colorado Avalanche vs Pittsburgh Penguins.