Goalie Semyon Varlamov will make his second consecutive start. He made 28 saves Thursday in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The Avalanche have lost 11 of their past 12 home games (1-10-1) and are 2-10-0 in the past 12 games overall. After trading McLeod to the Predators, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said he would "make more moves" before the NHL Trade Deadline of March 1. Though sorry to see McLeod leave, captain Gabriel Landeskog said, "When you're in last place in the League and anybody gets traded, it's not going to be a surprise, I guess. I'm sure he's going to want to show them his best, but it'll be weird seeing his name on another jersey." Coach Jared Bednar said he needs to keep players' focus on the games. "Our guys seem to be doing pretty good with that so far this year," he said. Center Matt Duchene, who has one goal in the past 12 games, will skate with Landeskog at left wing and Matt Nieto on the right. "We [have] to be more than a one-line team in order to produce and win games," Bednar said. "Obviously [Duchene] is the key guy. We need to make sure that his line is scoring, so Nieto gives us some speed there, and hopefully putting [Landeskog] there will help spark those guys."
