Avalanche, coming off 5-day break, eager to face Jets

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This article was published 28/10/2016 (3350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche are an antsy bunch after the NHL schedule-maker gave them a rare five-day break early in the season.

The Avalanche, off since the club fell 5-2 to the host Florida Panthers last Saturday, face the Winnipeg Jets tonight at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Game time is 8 p.m. CT.

Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said his club is excited to get a chance to play again.

“We’ve been sitting around for a whole week. Guys are anxious, they want to play. We haven’t played in front of our home fans for a couple of weeks, so it’s an exciting day for them,” he said.

Colorado is 3-2-0 so far, while the Jets are 3-4-0.

Centre John Mitchell and rookie winger Mikko Rantanen are expected to make their season debuts for the Avalanche, while goalie Semyon Varlamov gets the start.

Manitoba-born winger Cody McLeod will be a healthy scratch for Colorado.

Winnipeg is playing on back-to-back nights after beating the visiting Dallas Stars 4-1 on Thursday night, on the strength of a pair of goals from rookie sensation Patrik Laine and a terrific 38-save performance by goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

The 18-year-old Finn has six goals and a pair of assists in seven contests.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice will go with the same lineup tonight, although Michael Hutchinson will start in goal.

Dano gets call

The Jets called up forward Marko Dano from the Manitoba Moose and he’s with the club in Denver as insurance but likely won’t play tonight against the Avalanche.

Dano, 21, played in six games with the Moose after being left off the Jets roster following training camp and has a pair of assists for the American Hockey League club.

The Jets are dealing with injuries to veteran forwards Bryan Little and Drew Stafford, and the club is in the midst of playing three games in four days.

Little has been placed on the injured-reserve list, retroactive to Oct. 13. The club said earlier this week the centre is not expected back until late November.

Right-winger Drew Stafford suffered an upper-body injury against the Stars in Dallas on Tuesday night.

Dano, acquired by the Jets in February in the deal that sent Andrew Ladd to Chicago, scored four goals and chipped in four assists in 21 games for Winnipeg last season.

He was a 2013 first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter @WFPJasonBell