I suppose if any goalie can put an end to Patrick Kane's scoring streak, it could be Semyon Varlamov the way he's been playing in recent games.
He will be severely tested Tuesday in Chicago when the Avalanche finish their three-game road trip against Kane and the Blackhawks.
Kane will take a 26-game streak into the game (16 goals, 24 assists) and he has collected at least one point in all 16 of the Blackhawks' home games with 11 goals and 16 assists.
But Varlamov plays well against the Hawks; he has a 10-3-0 career record against them with two shutouts and a 1.93 goals-against average, and he's playing the way he did two years ago when he was a Vezina Trophy finalist.
Varlamov has won three consecutive decisions for the first time this season and is coming off back-to-back road wins in Nashville and St. Louis when he stopped a combined 76 of 79 shots. He had a season-high 42 saves Sunday in the Avalanche's 3-1 win against the Blues, who attempted a staggering 78 shots to Colorado's 36.
Varlamov has gone 4-1-0 in December with a 1.39 goals-against average and .958 save percentage. His only loss came Dec. 5 in Minnesota when he stopped 41 of 43 shots in a 3-0 loss. He's 12-3-3 in 18 career regular-season games when making 40 or more saves.
As well as Varlamov is playing, the Avalanche can't expect him to keep winning games all by himself. They are spending way too much time in their own end.
It also would help if the power play started clicking -- it's gone 1-for-20 in the past eight games -- and the Avalanche need guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Jarome Iginla to start producing again.
While MacKinnon has no goals and three assists in the past nine games, cut him some slack because he's having an excellent season. Iginla has virtually disappeared. Still needing three goals to reach 600 for his NHL career, Iginla has gone seven games without a point and he has one goal and three assists in the past 16 games.
As for Kane, who has set a franchise record, his streak is the longest by a U.S.-born player in NHL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. It's the longest in the league since the Quebec Nordiques' Mat Sundin scored in 30 consecutive games from Oct. 8 - Dec. 10, 1992. Sundin had 21 goals and 25 assists in his streak.
The NHL record of 51 games was set by Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky in 1983-84. He had outrageous numbers -- 61 goals and 92 assists -- in his streak. Los Angeles ended it Jan. 28, 1984 with Markus Mattsson in goal.