Avalanche coach Patrick Roy made slight changes to his forward lines and defensive corps in Saturday night’s game against the visiting Dallas Stars.
Forward Daniel Briere and defenseman Stefan Elliott — who both played in — were scratched in Colorado’s second game of a four-game homestand.
Forward Paul Carey, who was called up from the minors Friday, replaced Briere on the fourth line, and the Avs returned to going with the traditional six defensemen. Elliott was the seventh defenseman against the Rangers.
Injured Star. Dallas completed a consecutive-night stretch without forwards Tyler Seguin (knee injury), Ales Hemsky (lower body injury), Patrick Eaves (concussion) and Antoine Roussel (suspension).
Seguin, who entered Saturday tied for fourth among NHL goal-scorers with 29, was injured late in Friday’s 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers in Dallas. Seguin absorbed a , who was given a five-minute major, a game misconduct and Saturday orders to visit the NHL’s New York office for a disciplinary hearing.
Seguin is scheduled to be out two to six weeks. It is a significant blow for the Stars, who entered Saturday three points out of a wild-card spot.
Footnotes. The Avalanche are now 4-0 against the Stars this season. The Central Division rivals also meet Feb. 27 in Dallas. … Scouts from the Winnipeg Jets, Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens watched from the press box. … Colorado’s homestand continues Monday against the Arizona Coyotes and concludes Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings. … The Avs were 12-8-2 when scoring first before getting the first goal against the Stars on Saturday. … Avs center Matt Duchene entered the game three points shy of 300 for his career, and winger Alex Tanguay played in his 992nd NHL regular-season game.
