Other than playing a lot more as goalie
Semyon Varlamov recovers from season-ending hip surgery, nothing has really changed for
Calvin Pickard.
Pickard will start Tuesday in Anaheim when the Avalanche open a two-game road trip, after which coach
Jared Bednar will decide who gets the net Wednesday in Los Angeles, Pickard or new backup
Spencer Martin.
"It's still the same, I can't go out and put extra pressure on myself," Pickard said following a late afternoon practice Monday after the NHL All-Star break. "It's the NHL, so every game matters. Every player is playing for contracts or different things, so every game in an audition. It's going to be nice to get a few extra games. I want to take the ball and run with it."
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Tyson Barrie and
Rene Bourque took part in the full practice and are expected to play against the Ducks. Barrie missed the past four games, Bourque three games, both with lower-body injuries.
Nathan MacKinnon, who took part in the All-Star activities, didn't practice.
Erik Johnson, who sustained a broken fibula Dec. 3, was on the ice for the first time before practice after getting on a slide board for the first time last week. Bednar said there's no timeline for his return.)
The Avalanche, who have lost seven consecutive games (0-6-1) and 12 of the past 13 (1-11-1), are in last place in the league at 13-32-1 with 36 games remaining. They are hopelessly out of the playoffs, 25 points behind. Even 29th place Arizona has 10 more points.
"Obviously with our record it's going to be tough to get into any sort of race, so we're building to get better, to get better as a team," Pickard said. "We have a lot of games left, so it's good practice playing against some really good opponents, trying to sharpen up our game.
"It's going to be a good opportunity for a lot of us to just go out and play, play without fear and have some fun. This is the NHL and it's a privilege to play in this league and we're going to have a lot of fun going down the stretch."
Pickard already has played a career-high 23 games -- three more than last season -- with Varlamov missing 14 games before he underwent surgery last Thursday, 13 with groin issues and one with a wrist injury.
"I played a lot in the minors and in junior," he said. "That's what players want, to play a lot. I like my January so far, even though the results haven't been there."
Pickard is 7-13-1 for the season with a 3.01 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. He made 38 saves last Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to Vancouver.
"I like the way I've been playing and I want to keep going in that direction," he said. "It seems like we've been on the worst end of a lot of 3-2 games and I have to find a way to make one extra save to get it to overtime or to win 2-1. The margin for winning and losing in this league is so small and you really have to bear down on every shot."
Martin made his NHL debut on Jan. 21 when he had 27 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss in San Jose. He played his first Pepsi Center game two nights later when he made 21 saves in a 5-2 loss to the Sharks, who got four goals from
Patrick Marleau in the third period.
A second-year pro, Martin, 21, went 15-10-2 with San Antonio in the AHL this season with a 2.72 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
"You don't want to see anyone get hurt," Martin said. "I went through it a couple years ago when I missed eight months with an ACL (injury). I know how much work you have to do to get back, but that's part of the business. As a guy coming up from the minors, you have to take those opportunities, get some ice time in the NHL and try to prove that you can play at this level."
Bednar said Varlamov's surgery has provided some closure for the remainder of the season, eliminating the questions about his playing status that began when he missed his first few games.
"We're looking forward to getting a healthy Varly for next season," Bednar said. "We need him to take care of that problem so he can get back in the net and have some consistency to his game. We'll see how that goes over the course of the rest of the season and hopefully he gets a jump start on his training.
"Now we're getting a look at Spencer Martin. He's played real well in the American League. 'Picks' is going to play more games than he has in his career at this level. It's going to be a good learning curve for both those guys to see how they play and how they're able to work through the situation."
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