Tysons miss Caps game
Tyson Barrie and Tyson Jost were scratched Thursday night when the Avalanche hosted the Washington Capitals at the Pepsi Center. Barrie, a defenseman, missed his first game of the season with an upper- body injury and Jost, a rookie forward, was reassigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League.
Jost’s demotion is essentially a rehabilitation assignment. The 19year- old has missed the past eight games and 10 of 12 with different lower- body injuries, and the Avs would rather he play big minutes for the Rampage than be scratched or in a support role in Colorado.
The Avs, who played their first home game in Denver since Nov. 2, are coming off overtime and regulation losses to the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm last week. Barrie suffered an upper- body injury at some point in that series.
“It’s been bugging him a little bit. Hewas pretty sore yesterday. He’s better today,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’ll be a guy that should be able to come on the road trip with us and hopefully play this weekend.”
Colorado embarks on a short road trip, playing Saturday at Nashville, then Sunday at the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Jost, who is in the first year of his entry- level contract and thus waiver exempt, could return to Colorado in a week, or less. General manager Joe Sakic will determine that timetable, Bednar said.
Kamenev debut. Russian forward Vladislav Kamenev made his Avalanche debut in his third career NHL game Thursday, centering a line with Sven Andrighetto and Nail Yakupov. Kamenev, 21, was acquired from Nashville in the three- team, Nov. 4 trade that sent center Matt Duchene from Colorado to Ottawa.
Acquiring Kamenev allows the Avalanche to be patient with Jost, who ultimately could become its No. 2 center.
Kamenev, Jost and fellowrookie Alex Kerfoot are each natural centers expected to contribute in top- six roles.
Footnotes. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who has been a healthy scratch in four of the last seven games, including the last one Saturday against Ottawa in Sweden, returned to the lineup and partnered with Mark Barberio on the second pairing. In addition to Barrie, Colorado defensemen Patrik Nemeth ( lower- body) and Anton Lindholm ( broken jaw) are out with injuries. … Goalie Semyon Varlamov dressed in his 300th game for the Avalanche.