Just a thought, but would it be too much to ask to end Nikita Zadorov's string of healthy scratches, now three in a row?
Still not sure what the big defenseman did to tick off coach Jared Bednar, but it sure seems like Saturday would be a good time to put him back in the lineup when the Avalanche play Philadelphia to kick off a 10-day, four-game road trip.
Same with Chris Bigras, a healthy scratch the past two games.
Bednar has said he bases the lineup strictly on performance; that's how it should be, but it's time to put these guys back on the ice.
Who to sit out? How about Andrei Mironov and Anton Lindholm, not that any defenseman other than Erik Johnson (29:22 in ice time, assist, plus-2) and Patrik Nemeth (19:44, first career NHL goal in 118 games, assist, four blocked shots, plus-1) accounted for themselves particularly well Thursday when Semyon Varlamov had to make a Colorado regular-season record 57 saves in a 5-3 win against Carolina.
How lopsided did the ice seem at the Pepsi Center? The Hurricanes had 60 shots on goal, 17 that were blocked and 13 more that missed the net; that's 90 shots/attempts, an unheard of number. The Avalanche had 27 shots and 15 more that were blocked or missed the net.
"They're throwing it on net from everywhere, but we gave up way too many from the interior of the ice," Bednar said. "They were breaking down our coverage and low to high plays, their D, they've got some skilled guys back there that can shoot it and they're getting their shots through.
"I didn't like our D-zone coverage at all. We were getting beat back to the net, we had trouble getting the pucks stopped. We'd do the right things the odd time and get the puck and give it back to them. Part of that was their hard work, some of it was self-inflicted.
"I don't mind a lot of the shots, we did a good job on some of them, sealing guys out and letting him see it, but (Varlamov) did make some big saves in all three periods. It's good to get that performance from him when we don't have our 'A' game."
The Avalanche (7-5-0) have won three of their past four games after losing three in a row to move two games above a legitimate .500 this "late" in a season for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
They're also 5-1-0 at home, where they won't return until Nov. 16 against Washington following the extended trip that includes the New York Islanders on Sunday and back-to-back games next week against Ottawa in Stockholm, Sweden.
"We're finding different ways to get it done. I didn't like our game (Thursday), but a win's a win, and we know how hard wins are to come by in this league," Bednar said. "We'll take it. The work's just beginning, though."
*****
Six nights after getting shelled for seven goals on 21 shots in the 7-0 loss to Vegas, Varlamov gave up a weak goal to Victor Rask 55 seconds after the opening faceoff, then shut the door.
"I mean, tough game to play definitely, 60 shots," he said. "I gave up the first shot this game. It was not a great start and it was important for me to bounce back after the last game against Vegas. Tough game, but on paper with the result, I’m happy and I’m excited to see the guys scoring the goals. You know, when you score five goals, you can give up three and it’s easy to play that way.…
Varlamov surpassed his own Avalanche regular-season record of 54 saves in a 2-0 win at Chicago on Jan. 6, 2015. The franchise record is 70 saves set by the Quebec Nordiques' Ron Tugnutt in a 3-3 tie at Boston on March 21, 1991.
*****
The Carl Soderberg resurgence continues.
A healthy scratch in the season opener, Soderberg has worked his way into Bednar's good graces following last season's six-goal, 14-point, minus-26 showing.
The 32-year-old Swede was terrific Thursday with a goal, assist, four shots and a plus-2 rating in 16:56. He also won 10 of 15 faceoffs.
Soderberg has six points (two goals, four assists) and is plus-5 in 10 games. The Matt Nieto-Soderberg-Blake Comeau line has been really effective lately. Comeau had a goal and two shots against the Hurricanes, Nieto an assist and two shots.