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EJ, Lindholm out indefinitely |
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Rick Sadowski
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"3D and a Goalie."
It sounds like a sit-com, but it's hardly a laughing matter for the Avalanche, who have lost injured defensemen Mark Barberio, Erik Johnson and Anton Lindholm indefinitely, along with goalie Jonathan Bernier, who is undergoing concussion protocol.
Barberio has missed 10 games with a lower-body injury and hasn't started skating, and Johnson and Lindholm sustained upper-body injuries Sunday in the Avalanche's 4-2 loss to Edmonton, ending their home winning streak at 10 games.
Making matters worse, Minnesota beat the New York Islanders on Monday, dropping the Avalanche five points behind for the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
None of the injured players traveled to Vancouver for Tuesday's game against the Canucks to open a three-game road trip.
Coach Jared Bednar said after practice Monday that they would recall one or two defensemen from San Antonio of the AHL.
"I don't have a timeline on (the injuries)," he said. "We have three D out, so the job gets tougher now, but we'll focus on the guys who are in the lineup and the guys we recall and help them as much as we can and keep trying to improve with the guys we got.
"It is what it is, we play with the players that we have. With three guys out they'll be guys playing in situations that they don't normally play in. Different guys are going to have to step up. if we're going to win."
Johnson needed help off the ice at 1:59 of the third period Sunday. Lindholm left with 3:40 remaining in the second period.
So the Avalanche get Nathan MacKinnon back and lose two defensmen.
"Big loss for us," Nikita Zadorov said of Johnson. "He's a huge part of our team, on our defense corps especially. It's time for other guys to step up and play big minutes. It's probably the toughest time of the year right now. We need points to make the playoffs.
"It sucks losing that kind of guy, especially for me. I've been playing with him the last 35 games or so. We have to bring our best and hopefully good things will happen."
Semyon Varlamov will start Tuesday and Andrew Hammond, recalled Saturday from Belleville of the AHL, will be the backup, as he was Sunday.
"Right now it's Varly's net," Bednar said. "We need Varly to be exceptional, right? We need a lot of guys to be better than what they've been, better than average or just good if we're going to win now, especially with the guys that are out of the lineup."
The Avalanche (31-23-4) have gone 4-7-1 since their 10-game winning streak, 2-6-1 on the road.
Johnson, who missed 36 games with a broken leg last season, is among the NHL leaders in ice time, averaging 25:52 to go along with 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 55 games. He's been paired with Zadorov, who has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) and averages 18:51.
"Z's already playing in the top pair, so he'll stay there for now," Bednar said. "We have to find some pairs that work. There's going to be some experimenting that goes on for sure. You have to be able to defend against the other teams' top lines, especially on the road.
"We're going to have a handful of small guys back there and some other guys with not a whole bunch of experience, so we're going to have to try and protect them as best we can, but we're going to need those guys to step up and play.
"There's a lot of minutes to play in a game, especially without two guys (Johnson and Barberio) who were playing in our top four. We rely on those guys heavily."
Lindholm has two assists in 42 games. He's been paired with Tyson Barrie and averages 13:35.
Patrik Nemeth and two rookies, Samuel Girard and the rarely-used Duncan Siemens, are the remaining healthy defensemen.
"We have to find some pairs that work and there's going to be some experimenting going on," Bednar said. "You have to build with defending against other teams' top lines, especially on the road. We're going to have a handful of small guys back there and some other guys with not a whole bunch of experience, so we're going to have to try and protect them as best we can."
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