It's beginning to look a lot like last season in more ways than one for the Avalanche, awful start included.
Coach Patrick Roy said Wednesday that goalie Semyon Varlamov sustained a groin injury at the morning skate Tuesday in Philadelphia, so Calvin Pickard has been summoned to back up Reto Berra for Thursday's game in Boston.
Varlamov suffered groin injuries three times last season and missed a total of 15 games. Pickard made 10 starts while Varlamov was injured and three relief appearances -- one when Berra hurt his neck and two others when Berra was pulled in the first period.
Pickard made 16 appearances in all, finishing with a 6-7-3 record, a 2.35 goals-against average and .932 save percentage with the Avalanche, spending the rest of time with the Lake Erie Monsters in the AHL.
Pickard, 23, has been sensational this season with the San Antonio Rampage, the Avalanche's new AHL affiliate. He was named the league's Goalie of the Month for October and has a 6-0-3 record in nine starts with a 2.27 average, .935 save percentage and a league-high 303 saves.
Ver-ry interesting that Avalanche executive vice president/general manager Joe Sakic told the Denver Post last weekend that Pickard is "going to be here next year, for sure," meaning Varlamov or Berra would have to go.
The Avalanche lost faith in Berra last season and sent him to Lake Erie for five games, where he played well and even scored a goal. He made five starts after returning and won three of five decisions, including a 41-save, 1-0 decision against Winnipeg for his first NHL shutout.
Berra has outplayed Varlamov by a wide margin this season despite his 2-3-0 record in six appearances. He leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.50) and save percentage (.952).
Berra made 25 saves Tuesday in the Avalanche's 4-0 win against the Flyers, his second shutout of the season (tied for second in the league) and third in his past six starts, counting last year's game against the Jets.
Varlamov has gone 3-6-1 with a 3.26 average and .890 save percentage. Berra relieved him Oct. 14 in the Avalanche's 6-2 home loss to the Bruins and stopped all five shots he faced after Varlamov gave up five goals on 19 shots.
Needless to say, Berra was going to start in Boston on Thursday even if Varlamov was healthy.
The Rampage recalled goalie Spencer Martin from the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL. Martin has a 2-2-0 record in four starts with a 2.83 average and .895 save percentage.
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The Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Matt Duchene line combined for two goals, three assists, 16 shots and a plus-6 rating Tuesday.
"That is our job and we have to produce every game,' said Duchene, who had both goals and an assist. He has five goals in the past four games after scoring one in the first 11. "When we don't (contribute), we have to be mad about it and come back even harder the next night. That's a good start, but we're not satisfied."
John Mitchell, who has missed four games because of an oblique injury, practiced Wednesday and might play Thursday. Roy said it would be a game time decision.