Preview: Blue Jackets at Avalanche

BLUE JACKETS (12-5-4) at AVALANCHE (9-11-1)
TV: 9 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-O, NHL.TV

Blue Jackets team scope

Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his fifth consecutive start for the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opener of a two-game road trip. Bobrovsky made 26 saves in a 5-1 home win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. He's tied for second in the NHL in wins (12) and shutouts (three), and has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his past 13 games. Curtis McElhinney had 24 saves in the Blue Jackets' 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 21. The Blue Jackets are 6-1-2 in their past nine games. Defenseman Zach Werenski had three goals and seven assists in 14 games in November and was named NHL Rookie of the Month. Coach John Tortorella told the Columbus Dispatch that he wants to reduce defensemen-to-defensemen passing in order to move the puck to the forwards quicker and play at a faster pace. "To me it's the process of the past couple of years and where the League has gone," he said. "We need [the defensemen] to be part of our quickness. I think we've added leg speed, but I think we have added mental quickness too, and [reducing those passes] is part of the mental quickness." The Blue Jackets' power play leads the NHL at 27.8 percent (15-of-54).

Avalanche team scope

Semyon Varlamov will make his first start for the Colorado Avalanche since Nov. 23, when he made 35 saves in a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Varlamov missed one game because of a wrist injury and backed up Calvin Pickard in a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. The Avalanche are 0-2-1 in the first three games of a five-game homestand. Forwards Gabriel Bourque and Sam Henley will play after being called up from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Bourque (5-foot-10, 210 pounds) will be at left wing with center John Mitchell and right wing Jarome Iginla. Henley (6-4, 210), will make his NHL debut on a line with center Carl Soderberg and right wing Andreas Martinsen. "I'm just really excited, a little bit nervous. But I'm going to be good for the game," Henley said. "I try to be as hard to play against as possible, good defensively and [penalty killing]. Just a physical game." Bourque didn't have a point in five games with the Avalanche before he was assigned to San Antonio on Oct. 31. "We're looking for some energy, passion and juice from our forward group tonight," coach Jared Bednar said. "And I think those guys can help provide that."

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Blue Jackets projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Alex Wennberg -- Nick Foligno
Boone Jenner -- Brandon Dubinsky -- Cam Atkinson
Scott Hartnell -- William Karlsson -- Josh Anderson
Markus Hannikainen -- Lukas Sedlak -- Sam Gagner
Zach Werenski -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- David Savard
Ryan Murray -- Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Scott Harrington , Dalton Prout
Injured: Matt Calvert (upper body), David Clarkson (back)

Avalanche projected lineup

Mikko Rantanen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Rene Bourque
Blake Comeau -- Mikhail Grigorenko -- Matt Duchene
Gabriel Bourque -- John Mitchell -- Jarome Iginla
Sam Henley -- Carl Soderberg -- Andreas Martinsen
Fedor Tyutin -- Erik Johnson
Patrick Wiercioch -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Francois Beauchemin
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Scratched: Joe Colborne, Eric Gelinas, Cody McLeod
Injured:Gabriel Landeskog (lower body)

Status report

Calvert resumed off-ice workouts Wednesday and will miss his fifth consecutive game. ... Landeskog, who will miss his seventh game, was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 15, when he sustained his injury during a game against the Los Angeles Kings.

Who's hot

Atkinson has four goals and eight assists in his past nine games. Anderson has two goals and two assists in the past three games. ... Grigorenko has a goal in back-to-back games Tyutin has an assist in four consecutive games.