RALEIGH, N.C. -- Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov will be back in net Friday as they face the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; ALT2, FS-CR).
Varlamov made 34 saves Thursday in a 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I'm going to use him [Friday], no doubt about it," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said after the game. "When we gave some chances, [Varlamov] was phenomenal for us. It's a chance to win two out of three on the trip. [The Hurricanes] are a team that's playing well, and we need to be ready for those guys."
The Hurricanes return from a seven-game road trip after a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Defenseman Ron Hainsey delivered his second straight overtime goal, securing a 4-3-0 record on Carolina's annual October State Fair road trip. The Hurricanes beat the Avalanche 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 21 at the Pepsi Center when Hainsey scored his first overtime goal. The veteran has scored 42 goals in 742 NHL games.
"We played well in some other buildings too," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "Some of the ones we lost, I wasn't disappointed in our effort. I was pleased with the trip. Now we've got to make an effort as a group of 23 guys to play well each and every day."
Neither team held a morning skate Friday.
Roy would like to see improvement from Colorado's power play, which registered nine shots in six opportunities against the Lightning but failed to score.
"We didn't generate enough chances," Roy said. "We need to be better in that area if we want to win on the road. Let's see (on Friday)."
Here are the projected lineups:
AVALANCHE
Alex Tanguay - Nathan MacKinnon - Jarome Iginla
Gabriel Landeskog - Matt Duchene - Jack Skille
Dennis Everberg - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Mikhail Grigorenko
Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson
Injured: none
Scratched: Brad Stuart, Brandon Gormley
HURRICANES
Eric Staal - Victor Rask - Kris Versteeg
Nathan Gerbe - Jordan Staal - Chris Terry
Jeff Skinner - Riley Nash - Elias Lindholm
Brock McGinn - Jay McClement - Andrej Nestrasil
John-Michael Liles - Brett Pesce
Injured: James Wisniewski (knee)
Scratched: Brad Malone, Joakim Nordstrom, Michal Jordan
Status report: Nestrasil replaced Malone in the lineup against the Islanders. "We need to find a way to get some chemistry and consistency on the fourth line," Peters said.
Who's hot: Iginla, MacKinnon and Tanguay each had two points against the Lightning. … Jordan Staal had two assists against the Islanders. Ward has allowed four goals in his past four appearances.
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