The Avalanche called up goalie Andrew Hammond from the AHL to back up Jonathan Bernier against Dallas on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center, and forward Sven Andrighetto will be a healthy scratch -- replaced by Gabriel Bourque -- for the first time this season.

Hammond was summoned from Belleville, where he's been on loan since his Nov. 5 acquisition from Ottawa in the Matt Duchene trade, because Semyon Varlamov has been ill all week.

"(Varlamov) is feeling better today," coach Jared Bednar said after the morning skate. "We're going to keep him away from the rink. Practicing and traveling is not exactly conducive to getting better. He'll be back at the rink (Thursday)."

How Varlamov feels will determine whether he travels Thursday for Friday's late afternoon game in Minnesota. The Avalanche return after the game and face Calgary at home Saturday night.

"If we decide that Varly's not starting (Friday) then we may leave him back so he gets rested," Bednar said. "If there's a possibility he can start Saturday, we'll look at that."

Bednar said the Avalanche chose to recall Hammond rather than Spencer Martin from San Antonio because Martin is playing well and they want him to continue to play a significant number of games.

Martin, 22, has an 8-3-0 record with a 2.49 goals-against average and .917 save percentage with the Rampage.

"If we're looking for someone in the short term like this, why interrupt what he's doing?" Bednar said. "Any time we need a goalie, we'll make an educated decision."

Hammond, 29, was in Charlotte, N.C., where Belleville plays Wednesday. He took an early flight and arrived in Denver in time to get to the morning skate. He has a 5-2-1 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.

Nicknamed "The Hamburglar," Hammond went 20-1-2 with a 1.79 goals-against average and .941 save percentage with the Senators in 2014-15. He's since played in 30 games with the Senators, posting a 7-13-4 record.

Bourque will replace Andrighetto on the fourth line with rookie Dominic Toninato and Nail Yakupov.

"(Bourque) has been working real hard," Bednar said. "He brings something -- an element and a grit, sandpaper -- to our lineup that I think we need against (the Stars). I've talked with Andrighetto, and I think that he can get back to his roots a little bit here, give us a little bit more than what he's given us lately. Especially playing against Dallas, a big body team, we want to get a little more heaviness in there."

The 5-feet-10, 188-pound Andrighetto has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 19 games, but no points on eight shots in the past three games.

Bourque, who is 5-10 and 206 pounds, has no points in six games this season. He was a healthy scratch the past three games.

The Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Colin Wilson -- Alexander Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Gabriel Bourque -- Dominic Toninato -- Nail Yakupov

DEFENSE
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Chris Bigras -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Mark Barberio

GOALIES
Jonathan Bernier
Andrew Hammond



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