Avalanche provide Hurricanes with tough home test

AVALANCHE (14-2-0) at HURRICANES (6-7-4)

TV: ALT, SPSO

Last 10: Colorado 8-2-0; Carolina 4-5-1

Season series: This is the second and final meeting of the regular season between the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes. Matt Duchene had two goals and an assist to lead the Avalanche to a 4-2 win over the Hurricanes on Oct. 25 at Pepsi Center.

Big story: Colorado already has a pair of six-game win streaks on the young season, and if the Avalanche win Tuesday they'll be halfway to another one. They're first in the NHL in goals-against average (1.75), third on the penalty kill (88.5 percent) and fourth in goals per game (3.38). They're also the only team left undefeated when scoring the first goal, so the Hurricanes might want to grab the upper hand early.

Team Scope:

Avalanche: One area where Colorado can still look for improvement is in shots allowed. The Avalanche enter Tuesday giving up an average of 32 shots per game, ranking them 24th in the League. But the way Semyon Varlamov and Jean-Sebastien Giguere have played, it hasn't come back to bite them.

Varlamov stole the show Sunday night against the Washington Capitals, stopping 33 shots in a 4-1 victory. Defenseman Nick Holden's first NHL goal snapped a tie late in the second period before PA Parenteau and Gabriel Landeskog added insurance in the third.

"It was great, especially against my old team," said Varlamov, who played for the Capitals from 2008-11. "It's always tough to play against Washington. They have so many good players, the best power play in the League, but I think we did a great job, and that's why we got a positive result."

Hurricanes: For a team whose anticipated starting and backup goalie are both out, Carolina has managed to stay afloat, and the Hurricanes received good news with Cam Ward returning to practice on Sunday. Ward may serve as the backup Friday and he's still ahead of schedule after leaving an Oct. 24 game with a lower-body injury.

"He needs to be healthy and 100 percent," coach Kirk Muller said. "He needs practices, and he needs to be looking sharp and confident."

In the meantime, Justin Peters continued a strong recent stretch by making 28 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Peters is 2-0-1 in his past three starts, giving up just three goals.

"We need everyone pushing and pulling in the same direction all the time," Peters said. "We've proven to ourselves the last few games that when we do that we get results."

Who's hot: Duchene has two goals and four assists during a four-game point streak for the Avalanche. Parenteau has three goals and two assists during a four-game point streak.

Injury report: Colorado defenseman Ryan Wilson (back) is out indefinitely, while forward Alex Tanguay (knee) is expected to miss another week. … In addition to Ward, defenseman Tim Gleason (upper body) is also practicing with Carolina and closing in on a return. Forward Kevin Westgarth (upper body) is day-to-day. Goalie Anton Khudobin (lower body) and forward Jeff Skinner (upper body) are on injured reserve.