Greetings from Air Canada Centre. no morning skate. D Ryan Wilson (head) out but just day to day. Nate Guenin in
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers)
TORONTO — Semyon Varlamov is back in net for the Avalanche, which arrived here Monday night after its 2-1 triumph at Boston. Varlamov, naturally, wants to contribute to the team as much as backup Reto Berra did against the Bruins, and collect his first win of the season in his third start. If Varlamov doesn’t play well or get the win, you have to think coach Patrick Roy might come back with Berra on Thursday in Ottawa, or at least Saturday in Montreal, the last stop on this four-game trip.
But, like I wrote last night, everyone around this team feels the improvement from Game 1 to Game 2 and into Game 3, so Varlamov might certainly have a much more cohesive unit in front of him against the Maple Leafs, who also are 1-2. Toronto lost home games to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the season before routing the New York Rangers 6-3 on the road Sunday. Goalie James Reimer got the win against the Rangers and is expected to get his second start of the season Tuesday against the Avs.
As you can see from the embedded tweet above, there is one change to the 20-man lineup for the Avs. Defenseman Nate Guenin replaces Ryan Wilson, who apparently is not seriously hurt after taking a puck off his lid Monday. The other scratches are D Zach Redmond (healthy) and F Jesse Winchester (head, not on trip). F John Mitchell remains on IR and skating on his own.
