Avalanche rookie goalie Calvin Pickard is expected to learn his fate -- likely a return to Lake Erie in the AHL -- in the next "four or five days," coach Patrick Roy said this morning.
Pickard, 22, will start tonight against Chicago at the Pepsi Center, after which Semyon Varlamov will play on a near nightly basis as long as he can stay healthy.
Here are the game notes.
Varlamov, a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, has sustained a groin injury three times and played in just 16 of the Avalanche's first 34 games. He made 26 saves Tuesday in a 5-0 win against St. Louis after missing six games and the Avalanche want to make sure he's completely healthy.
"It's a good situation for us," Roy said. "Calvin will play tonight and after we'll make decisions. The way he's been playing he certainly deserves that start tonight. Everybody knows our plan is to allow Calvin to play a lot of games. If he's going to stay here and be on the bench it was crystal clear he's not going to be here. If he plays, he will stay here, but if he's not playing we believe that it's better for him to go to the minors and play a lot of games."
Pickard, who's been recalled from Lake Erie three times, has played in 13 games and leads the Avalanche in wins (six), goals-against average (2.06) and save percentage (.939).
"It's nice to get into a rhythm playing a lot of games," he said. "Of course, I want to do whatever is the right decision. I can't control the hockey decisions, I just want to take advantage of the opportunities I have up here and tonight's another one. I feel like I can play at this level, but it's a process. I'm still young, Varly's an unbelievable goalie and he deserves to play."
The Avalanche are carrying three goalies and Varlamov is obviously No. 1 in the pecking order, leaving Pickard and Reto Berra, who has struggled but is in the first year of a three-year, $4.35 million contract. He would have to clear waivers before being sent to Lake Erie, but that isn't why he's expected to be handed the backup position. Roy and VP/general manager Joe Sakic don't want Pickard sitting on the bench for long stretches even though he deserves to stay in the NHL (and earn $813,333; his AHL salary is $56,667 according to capgeek.com).
As for Berra, who hasn't played since relieving Varlamov on Dec. 5 in Winnipeg, Roy said he's working a lot harder in practice since being demoted to third string.
"He competes better," Roy said. "If you watch Calvin play, he competes hard. I think Reto has the size and we haven't given up on him. We know that we're going to need him until the end of the season. I can say right now that he's working harder in practice, competes better in practice. Now he needs to rebuild his confidence."
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The Avalanche (13-13-8) will take a season-best three-game winning streak into tonight's game. They're 4-0-2 in the past six games and 7-7-3 at home. They're seven points (41-34) behind Los Angeles for the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Pickard made 42 saves Nov. 26 in the Avalanche's 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks when Bryan Bickell broke a 2-2 tie with 5:17 remaining in the third period. The Avalanche were outshot 45-29.
"Last time I had a pretty good game against them," he said. "It's too bad we lost at the end of the game. It's always a fun game between these two teams." Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville didn't know anything about Pickard until seeing him in person that night.
"For a rookie coming into the league, he's played very well," Quenneville said. "He sees a lot of pucks. Big, square, he kind of reminded me of how Varlamov played against us last year."
The Blackhawks (23-10-2) left Chicago early this morning and arrived in Denver shortly before heading to the Pepsi Center to get in a 30-minute skate. NHL teams aren't permitted to travel the day after Christmas as part of the collective bargaining agreement. The Avalanche had a similar travel schedule last year when they skipped a morning skate and lost 7-2 in Chicago.
"I guess you could say last year Colorado paid that price," Quenneville said. "That's the way it is. We got here and had a morning skate, so it's like a regular game from here on out. You should be fresh and excited about playing again."
Corey Crawford will start in goal for Chicago.
Here's the Avalanche lineup:
FORWARDS Max Talbot - Matt Duchene - Nathan MacKinnon Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Daniel Briere Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Jarome Iginla Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Dennis Everberg
DEFENSEMEN Jan Hejda - Erik Johnson Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie Brad Stuart - Zach Redmond
GOALIES Calvin Pickard Semyon Varlamov