Eurolanche

Avs to begin four-game road trip

Season series: The Colorado Avalanche and New York Islanders split two games in 2014-15, with each team getting a shutout. Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves and Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in Colorado's 5-0 win at Pepsi Center on Oct. 30, 2014; Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves and Nikolay Kulemin and Ryan Strome each had a goal and an assist in the Islanders' 6-0 win at Nassau Coliseum 12 days later.

Avalanche team scope: Colorado traveled to New York on Sunday after earning a 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center on Saturday. Forward Matt Duchene, who is skating on a line with MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, has 11 goals this month, breaking Claude Lemieux's record (10) in Nov. 1995. "I'm playing with two amazing hockey players, Gabe and Nate," Duchene, who has 16 points in his past nine games, told the Avalanche website. "They make it easier for me, I guess. So much credit goes to those guys." Coach Patrick Roy told The Denver Post on Saturday that forwards John Mitchell (oblique) and Alex Tanguay (knee) will return at some point during Colorado's four-game road trip.

Islanders team scope: New York, which has a three-game point streak (2-0-1), did not practice Sunday. Defenseman Thomas Hickey returned from a lower-body injury for a 3-2 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, so defenseman Adam Pelech was sent to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Forward Josh Bailey will play his 500th NHL game Monday. A first-round pick (No. 9) in 2008, Bailey has 230 career points (86 goals, 144 assists). He has scored in back-to-back games. "It's just a really short-term mindset that I've adapted over the years," Bailey told the Islanders website. "Early on you can get a little worked up, a little high after a big win or a good game and a little low after a tough loss or a poor game individually. Learning how to handle the ups and downs and stay even keel throughout the year is one of the most important things about being a professional."

-- by NHL.com --