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Pickard will start against Hawks; Johnson game-time decision |
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Rick Sadowski
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UPDATE: The Avalanche recalled defenseman Karl Stollery from Lake Erie in the AHL in case Erik Johnson can't play tonight against Chicago. Johnson left in overtime Tuesday after a collision with Arizona's Martin Hanzal. Johnson's status will be a game-time decision.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov (groin) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 15 to make room for Stollery on the roster.
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Calvin Pickard will start in goal against the Blackhawks. He's made 42 consecutive saves in two relief appearances of Reto Berra and owns a 2.00 goals-against average and .933 save percentage for the season.
The 22-year-old rookie was excellent again after he relieved the struggling Berra in the first period for the second game in a row Tuesday night in Arizona with the Avalanche trailing 3-0. Pickard shut out the Coyotes the rest of the way and the Avalanche pulled out a 4-3 overtime win on a goal by Daniel Briere, whose attempted pass for Zach Redmond deflected past goalie Mike Smith off Hanzal's stick with 1:44 left in the extra period.
"This is the kind of victory that can send you on your way," said Briere, who has three game winners among his four goals. "Hopefully this gets us going for a good long streak now."
Tyson Barrie drew two defenders to him while keeping the puck along the boards. The puck popped free and Briere skated with it into the left circle.
"Tyson was holding the puck with two guys on his back and I saw Zach going back door," Briere said. "I tried to feed him. We had the bounces going against us in the first period and that certainly was a bounce going our way finally."
Asked if he has a new No. 1 goalie in Pickard until Varlamov comes back from his groin injury, Roy laughed and said: "Yeah, I guess so. We're going to go with Pickard (Wednesday), but you know what? It's a tough stretch right now for Reto, unfortunately for him. But good for us that Calvin is playing well."
Alex Tanguay skated Tuesday but missed his second game because of a facial fracture. He didn't feel well enough to play.
The Avalanche (8-9-5) have won two games in a row and four of the past five, with all four wins coming after they trailed at some point in the third period.
Gabriel Landeskog scored early in the second and third periods to draw the Avalanche within 3-2 and Matt Duchene tied the game at 4:05 of the third when he poked a loose puck across the goal line after Smith seemed to give up on the play, perhaps thinking the whistle had blown.
Here's the explanation from the NHL Situation Room after initiating a video review to determine whether Duchene's "first shot crossed the goal line, which it did not. However, video review confirmed that Duchene's second shot crossed the goal line in a legal fashion, therefore the referee's call on the ice stands - good goal Colorado."
Pickard made 25 saves after Berra gave up three goals on eight shots and was pulled at 10:53 after Tobias Rieder scored 33 seconds after Michael Stone did. Antoine Vermette opened the scoring at 3:36.
On Saturday against Carolina, Pickard stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 4-3 victory for his first NHL win. Berra got the hook at 16:50 of the first period after he permitted three goals on 10 shots. The Avalanche trailed 3-1 when Pickard came in.
"He did a really good job against Carolina and tonight he was again perfect," Roy said. "I have to give it to him. He battles out there, he competes, and he certainly deserves a lot of credit for his play right now."
The Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Jarome Iginla line had another big game with two goals, three assists and 10 shots on goal. Landeskog had two goals and six shots, Iginla two assists, two shots and five hits, and MacKinnon an assist and two shots.
Duchene had a goal in 20:28 and won 10 of 13 faceoffs. Briere played 18:56 and had four shots. Ryan O'Reilly had an assist in 19:32.
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