Eurolanche

Varly could return against Devils

Season series: Matt Duchene scored with 2:53 remaining in the third period to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils in its first game. John Mitchell and Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche; Eric Gelinas and Martin Havlat scored for the Devils.

Avalanche team scope: Goaltender Semyon Varlamov (groin) missed practice Wednesday, but coach Patrick Roy said afterwards he expects him to participate in the morning skate and possibly start, according to Denverpost.com. Roy said the groin injury to Varlamov is not as serious as the one that forced him to miss 15 games earlier this season.

Goalie Calvin Pickard, re-called from the American Hockey League on Monday, was pulled 14:15 into the first period after allowing three goals on eight shots in a 5-2 loss against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

Colorado, which trails the Winnipeg Jets by seven points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, has 15 regular-season games remaining.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog has a four-game point streak, scoring three goals and seven points over that stretch.

Devils team scope: Goaltender Cory Schneider will start in goal, according to Northjersey.com. Schneider was pulled 1:30 into the third period after allowing five goals on 30 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

For the first time since the firing of Pete DeBoer on Dec. 26, interim co-coach Lou Lamoriello opted to watch the game from the press box instead of working on the bench. Assistant coach Tommy Albelin moved downstairs alongside co-coaches Adam Oates and Scott Stevens. Lamoriello said Wednesday he hasn't decided whether he'll return to the bench against the Avalanche, according to Northjersey.com.

New Jersey is 8-13-3 against teams from the Western Conference this season.

-- by NHL. com --