Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov's already heavy workload is about to get even more significant.
Jonathan Bernier is hurt again, sustaining another head/neck injury Saturday against Arizona, and Andrew Hammond remains on injured reserve to recover from a concussion.
"(Bernier) is feeling a lot better today, so we'll see how long this takes him," coach Jared Bednar said after practice Monday. "It's hard to say."
The Avalanche recalled Spencer Martin from San Antonio of the AHL for the second time in two weeks. He practiced Monday and will be the backup for the two-game trip to Minnesota and St. Louis. Bernier didn't travel.
Varlamov played in his 13th consecutive game Saturday -- 11 of them starts -- when Bernier left with 7:27 remaining in the third period. He only faced four shots the rest of the way and was able to relax Sunday when the Avalanche had their annual charity fashion show, so that helps.
"It was a tough stretch for me, but I liked it," Varlamov told me after practice. "I like to play a lot, that's how you build the confidence when you play game by game. The schedule is not easy, we're playing every other day and it will be like that until the end of the regular season.
"I'm glad we had a day off (Sunday), it was a really nice day with the charity event. Sometimes you just think too much about hockey, so when you have a day off you kind of feel like 'I'm thinking too much.' It was a good day to not think about hockey and today we had a good practice."
The Avalanche have gone 4-0-3 in the past seven games to move into the second wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference, one point in front of Los Angeles with 14 games to go. That could change Monday night because the Kings are home against Vancouver.
Varlamov has gone 5-2-4 with a couple of no-decisions during his 13-game stretch. He'll start Tuesday against the Wild and likely Thursday in St. Louis, after which Bednar will have to make a decision about Friday's home game against Nashville.
"I don't know the schedule for (the goalies)," said Varlamov, who has an 18-13-6 record in 42 games with a 2.81 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. "I'm going to play (Tuesday), but I don't know who's going to play the next games after that. The coaches will tell us the day before the game. I feel good."
Asking Varlamov to play three games in four nights with the back-to-back set against the Blues and Predators might be too much for a guy who missed 10 games in January because of a groin muscle issue after sitting out half of last season to recover from surgery on each of his hips.
"He had some time off when he tweaked his groin midseason and he's been getting lots of rest on practice days, so he looks good, feels good," Bednar said. "Not a problem for him carrying the load right now."
Varlamov said he's enjoying it.
"I like it, I like to play every other day," he said. "It's exciting. We're in a pretty good spot right now, battling for the playoffs. We know where we're at. We don't need to focus on the other teams, we just need to stay focused on the things we need to do and try to win some hockey games.
"It's really fun. We are having fun times right now. Everybody's focusing and excited about these games. We're looking forward to playing them."
*****
Martin has a 14-12-0 record with a 3.05 goals-against average and .895 save percentage in 31 games for the Rampage (29-24-9).
"I don't know what the plans are," said Martin, who is using a folding chair next to a table as a temporary "stall" in the middle of the locker room. "I don't know if this is a 24-hour gig or anything. I'm doing what I did last time I got called up, showing them where my game's at in practice.
"Of course everybody wants to get the opportunity to play. My focus now is adjusting to the NHL speed. We're also in a race in the AHL, so I'm kind of in that mode already. It's a great situation to be in.
"Working with the Avs in practice is the best thing for me. I feel like it just elevates my game. I really enjoy seeing the shots and seeing the competition. The AHL is challenging and it's good development. but this is another level."
*****
Bednar said he didn't have an update on defenseman Erik Johnson, who skated before practice. He's missed 10 games with an upper-body injury believed to be a shoulder problem. Defenseman Mark Barberio still isn't skating.