The Colorado Avalanche: News from around the NHL - September 25th, 2013

Kessel only got three games for slashing an opposing player.

In speaking with reporters on Monday, John Scott, the Buffalo Sabres forward listed at 6-foot-8, 259 pounds, suggested he was not really planning to punch Phil Kessel, or at least not to punch him very hard: “I wasn’t going to try to hurt him; I was just trying to send a message.”

That message led to a brawl and, ultimately, to the National Hockey League issuing three penalties to the principal actors. And what was supposed to have been a meaningless pre-season game between the Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs will now wield influence into the regular season.

Varlamov is being secretive about his changes in style, but will tell everyone that he likes the coaching changes.

The 25-year-old Russian has been working on his lateral movement and Roy said Varlamov is keeping his glove higher than in the past in an attempt to show shooters less net, but that's about as far as anyone will go regarding changes to Varlamov's technique.

"I can't say anything about my style," Varlamov said. "I won't tell you guys how I'm going to play this year. They want me to play a little bit different and I think it's going to help me in the future."

Varlamov said he is excited about the opportunity to play for Roy, his idol growing up, and to work with Allaire, who was one of the first assistants hired by Roy and Joe Sakic, the Avalanche's executive vice president of hockey operations.

This article about Jake Dowell and his story on how his family has been touched by Huntington's disease.

Jake Dowell shows up to the Wild locker room every day and sits in a far corner. As he joins his teammates and gets ready for practice, you’d never know the incredible weight he shoulders.

“Sometimes … you get choked up by the thought of what he’s going through,” coach Mike Yeo said.

Dowell’s father and only brother are dying. They’re both in the final stages of Huntington’s disease, a neurological disorder that over the course of a decade or more debilitates a person physically and cognitively until they die.

There is a 50-50 chance that Dowell, 28, a Wild checker who has played 156 NHL games, has inherited the same gene. In the next year or two, Dowell plans to go with his wife, Carly, and his champion of a mother, Vicki, to have a blood test and learn what his future holds.