Eurolanche

Varly questionable for Avs against Kings

Season series: Jonathan Quick made 43 saves and center Jeff Carter scored two goals to help the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 on Feb. 18. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty had two assists.

Kings (31-21-13) team scope: Los Angeles is 2-3-1 in its past six games after winning eight straight from Feb. 7-24. Coach Darryl Sutter changed up his forward lines at practice Monday after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. "I mean, everybody talks about these lines that are special and all that, but we have guys who haven't scored goals for 10 games, or two in 20, things like that," Sutter said, according to LA Kings Insider. Dwight King was on the right wing on the top line with center Anze Kopitar and left wing Marian Gaborik. Trevor Lewis, who had a career-high three points on the top line in a 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on March 3, was dropped down to the second line with Carter and Tyler Toffoli. The Kings trail the Calgary Flames by two points for third place in the Pacific Division and are three points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild-card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. "I mean, given the situation we're in, we have to get better," captain Dustin Brown said. "I think, as a whole, this group over the years have proven when we need to play really well, we can. Unfortunately, we need to figure out a way to not put ourselves in these situations."

Avalanche (30-25-11) team scope: Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov is expected to participate in the morning skate Tuesday, according to the Denver Post, after he left a 3-2 win against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday late in the third period because of a lower-body injury. Coach Patrick Roy said it may have been cramping that was bothering Varlamov, who has started 22 consecutive games. The Avalanche recalled goalie Calvin Pickard from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League on Monday in case Varlamov can't play. Varlamov went 3-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.69 goals-against average and .981 save percentage in three starts to earn the NHL's Second Star for the week ending March 8. Captain Gabriel Landeskog has a goal in three straight games and at least a point in 10 of the past 12 games. The Avalanche have won seven of 10 to get back in the playoff hunt. They trail the Jets by seven points for the second wild-card spot.

-- by NHL.com --