GLENDALE, ariz. — Semyon Varlamov might get a rare night off Friday against the Ducks in Anaheim. Varlamov started Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes, but coach Patrick Roy might go with Reto Berra to conclude the back-to-back road games.
Berra’s previous start was Nov. 25 at Arizona, and he has been used in relief five times since.
“I’ll make a decision after the game,” Roy said after Thursday’s morning skate at the Gila River Arena. “It depends on the result of the game, how many shots we give up. There’s a lot of factors. We’ll make a decision after the game, but I already mentioned to Reto that he should be ready to play and we’ll see how it goes.”
Berra entered Thursday with a 3.42 goals-against average (78th in the league) and .890 save percentage (70th). Roy said 22-year-old Calvin Pickard, who has often played ahead of Berra this season when Varlamov has been injured, will not be called up from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.
Roy has said for the past week or so that he wants to give Berra another chance.
Hishon scratched. Healthy scratches don’t have it easy, and rookie center Joey Hishon was “bag-skated” Thursday morning after telling the coaching staff his bothersome elbow is not sufficiently healed. Hishon was healthy enough to get skated until he felt sick, with assistant coach Tim Army offering encouragement while demonstrating drills.
“Not strong enough on face offs,” Roy said of Hishon, the Avs’ 2010 first-round draft pick. “Maybe (Friday). We’ll see how it goes. He’s a center. If he can’t do faceoffs, that’s not good for us.”
Hishon has played in just two of five games since being called up from Lake Erie.
Footnotes. Avs forward John Mitchell played in his 400th NHL regular-season game. … Colorado entered Thursday 8-3 in its last 11 games and 10-4 in its previous 14. Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
COLORADO AT ANAHEIM 8 p.m. Friday, ALT; 94.1 FM
Spotlight on Ryan Kesler: His overtime goal on his only shot Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings gave the Ducks a 3-2 victory and served as the 200th goal of his NHL career. Kesler, a longtime Kings nemesis dating to his 10 seasons with Vancouver, has five goals against Los Angeles this season, his first with Anaheim. Kesler is a Michigan product who played one season at Ohio State.
