The Avalanche trip to Stockholm has turned into a disappointing one for three of the team's four Swedish-born players.
Only captain
Gabriel Landeskog, who is from Stockholm, will play Friday in the first of two games against Ottawa at the Ericsson Globe in the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series.
Center
Carl Soderberg remained in Denver to be with his wife, who is due to give birth to their third child, and defensemen
Anton Lindholm and
Patrik Nemeth are injured. Lindholm has a broken jaw and will be sidelined indefinitely, while Nemeth has an undisclosed injury and didn't practice Thursday.
Coach
Jared Bednar told
NHL.com's Dan Rosen that rookie defenseman
Samuel Girard, who was acquired in the
Matt Duchene trade, will make his Avalanche debut possibly paired with
Erik Johnson.
"It's something we're considering," Bednar said. "That job has been filled by committee. I'd like to get a guy we can trust and play there a lot. It's a big job, though, if you look at the opposition EJ plays against, especially for a young player. "
The Avalanche still have seven healthy defensemen, but the injuries to Lindholm and Nemeth will force Bednar to change the pairings.
Lindholm was spending time with Johnson, and Nemeth has been with
Tyson Barrie. The healthy blue liners: Barrie, Girard, Johnson,
Mark Barberio, Chris Bigras, Andrei Mironov and
Nikita Zadorov.
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Based on the line combinations at practice Thursday, rookie
Alexander Kerfoot would replace Duchene as the second-line center with
Sven Andrighetto and
Nail Yakupov.
Kerfoot had a rough day with an allergic reaction to peanuts, which he discussed in this installment of his
NHL.COM BLOG.
Rookie
J.T. Compher, who missed the past six games because of a broken thumb, would replace Soderberg as the third-line center with
Matt Nieto and
Blake Comeau.
Colin Wilson, who has missed six games with a hip injury, would center the fourth line with
A.J. Greer and
Rocco Grimaldi.
The top line of Landeskog-
Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen remains.
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal.
Jonathan Bernier likely will start Saturday.
The NHL permitted the Avalanche and Senators to bring a third goalie in case of an emergency, and Colorado recalled
Joe Cannata to fill that role, allowing
Spencer Martin to continue to play for AHL San Antonio.
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The Avalanche will have plenty of support in Stockholm from members of Eurolanche, a European fan club that is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
The club has nearly 800 registered members from 43 countries.
Eurolanche has published a 200-page book that chronicles its North American "invasions" over the years to attend Avalanche games at the Pepsi Center and other NHL venues, meet and interview Avalanche players, and visit popular attractions.
The book can be purchased using the above link for $24.99, which includes tracked international shipping.
The club's next "invasion" is scheduled this season between late February and early March. The group will attend five Avalanche games at the Pepsi Center and games in Chicago and Columbus.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
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