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Varly back in net, Wilson out 2-3 weeks, Redmond could play |
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Rick Sadowski
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Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov practiced Thursday and will start Friday night against Vancouver at the Pepsi Center.
"Things feel good," said Varlamov, who missed the past three games while on injured reserve to recover from a groin injury. "Everything's good."
Rookie goalie Calvin Pickard will be sent back to Lake Erie in the AHL. He played two games after Varlamov went on IR following the morning skate Oct. 16 in Ottawa and Reto Berra sustained a neck injury early in the first period against the Senators.
“I felt it in my groin a little bit in the morning," Varlamov said. "At the pregame skate, I felt uncomfortable. That’s why we decided to not play me in that game. I can tell you I feel good right now. I’m rested, I’m ready to go, I’m healthy. That’s a very important thing for me.
“Nobody wants to be injured, especially in the beginning of the season. It’s very important to have a good start of the season. I’ll be ready to play tomorrow."
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Defenseman Ryan Wilson hurt his shoulder in the second period Tuesday against Florida and will be sidelined for two to three weeks, so coach Patrick Roy said he was leaning toward putting Zach Redmond in the lineup for the first time Friday.
"As we speak, I think Redmond will play his first game," Roy said. "That could change, but at the moment I think he's going to play his first game tomorrow."
Redmond, 26, signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract as a free agent July 1. He spent three seasons with the Winnipeg Jets organization with two goals and five assists in 18 NHL games. A 6-foot-2, 205-pounder, Redmond had six goals and 19 assists in 40 games last year with St. John's in the AHL. He had two goals and 12 assists in 21 playoff games.
"When we had our meetings in July, he's a player that played some games in Winnipeg but he also had a really good playoff at St. John's and he got our attention," Roy said. "He's a guy that moves the puck well, supports the rush, and he's capable of playing good defense."
Redmond, who is from Traverse City, Mich., has been patiently biding his time for the chance to get into the lineup after playing well in the preseason.
"I'd be very excited (to play Friday), hopefully not too nervous," he said. "I went through stretches like this before, which is good because I kind of know how to react to them now. I'm just really excited if that is the case. I just want to work hard, be steady in my own end and hopefully chip in offensively and make it hard for them to keep me out.
"I was happy with my camp. It's an NHL team, it's a hard gig. That stuff happens, it's happened before. You want to be playing, but at the same time for me, I'm blessed to be in the NHL and to get the chance to compete for a spot. Once I do get a chance I need to make sure I take advantage of it."
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Forwards Max Talbot and Daniel Briere switched places on the third and fourth lines in practice. Talbot moved to the third line with Jamie McGinn and John Mitchell. Briere dropped to the fourth unit with Cody McLeod and Marc-Andre Cliche.
Center Jesse Winchester (concussion) practiced again while wearing a red, non-contact jersey.
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Defenseman Tyson Barrie scored his first goal Tuesday against the Panthers in the second period on a 5-on-3 power play. Gabriel Landeskog followed during a 5-on-4 advantage 31 seconds later. The Avalanche went 1-for-22 on power plays in the first six games.
"We shot more pucks, jammed it to the net and that's how we got our goals," Barrie said. "That's a positive, to get our power play going a little bit, but we've got so many areas we need to tighten up. It's been frustrating the way the year started. Things haven't been going our way. Half of that is luck and most of that is bad luck and the rest of it is on us. We're not competing hard enough and doing the little things.
"It's a long season and we're seven games in and it's been a horrible start for us, but we're resilient. It can spiral out of control pretty quickly, so we have to get a grip on this. We have lots of time to make up room, but you want to nip this in the bud right away."
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Roy called out the team after the 4-3 overtime loss to Florida, saying players have to play harder and eliminate the turnovers that have been so prevalent.
"We're close, but there's nothing wrong with going through some adversity at this time," he said Thursday. "I think this makes every one of us realize that there's things we can do better on the ice, especially under pressure, moving the puck better, cutting down on turnovers, blah, blah, blah. The players want to be better, they care. I like the way we've been practicing lately. I really believe we're close to winning games."
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