Avalanche at Stars
The feel-good story of the NHL season took a dramatic turn Wednesday, when Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov was arrested and jailed overnight after his girlfriend accused him of beating and kicking her. Varlamov, who has been an integral part of Colorado's league-best 10-1-0 record, was charged with second-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault. He is free on bail and expected to travel with the team when the Avalanche visit the Dallas Stars on Friday.
Varlamov's agent maintained his client is "completely innocent" even though the woman claims the 25-year-old netminder has assaulted her on at least four occasions. Matt Duchene, Colorado's leading scorer, said the team will not be affected by the issue, and backup goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said he is ready to handle an increased workload. "That's the job of a backup," Giguere said. "You have to be ready for all kinds of scenarios."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Altitude 2 (Colorado), FSN Southwest Plus (Dallas)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (10-1-0): Giguere has made three starts - all on the road - and posted three wins, including a pair of shutouts against Pittsburgh and Boston. Colorado made other news off the ice Thursday as it traded right wing Steve Downie to the Philadelphia Flyers for center Maxime Talbot. Downie registered seven points in 11 games and played on the Avalanche's No. 1 line, while penalty-killing specialist Talbot had a goal and an assist for the Flyers.
ABOUT THE STARS (5-6-1): The return of Kari Lehtonen in goal has stopped the onslaught of goals allowed by Dallas, which has surrendered seven tallies in the last four games with its No. 1 netminder, compared to 17 in the previous four contests. "I think we are getting closer to where we want to be," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We've really cut down on the careless plays of late." Rookie Alex Chiasson is tied for the team lead with five goals but has scored in only one of the last nine games.
OVERTIME
1. The Avalanche, winners of four straight, lead the league in penalty-killing at 92.3 percent.
2. Lehtonen is 8-3-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average against Colorado.
3. Duchene had two goals in a 3-2 win over Dallas on Oct. 15.