Winnipeg Jets’ Andrew Ladd (16) scores on Reto Berra in Berra’s last start, on Dec. 5 at Winnipeg(John Woods, Canadian Press)
VANCOUVER — The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate Thursday, but the team has confirmed that Patrick Roy will go with Reto Berra in the Colorado net against the Canucks.
It’s not a shock, given what Roy said Wednesday when I asked him after the loss at Edmonton if he was sticking with the plan to go with Semyon Varlamov on both nights of the back-to-back.
This was in the post-game Avs Briefs, but this is what Roy said: “I’m going to think about it. Reto (Berra) played really well. Maybe it would be a good chance for him to play (Thursday) night. We’ll see. We’ll talk with the coaches and we’ll make our decision.”
Varlamov, who had started 28 of the last 29 games and played well, allowed three goals on seven shots against the Oilers before Roy pulled him.
The Avalanche realistically is out of the playoff hunt and while this might come off as a sign of surrender, it actually makes sense: Berra allowed only one goal on 27 shots against Edmonton and while most evidence so far leads to the conclusion that the Avalanche erred in acquiring him and even more so signing him to a contract extension, Varlamov showed signs of hitting a wall and this is a way of finding out if Berra can surprise us all.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or twitter.com/TFrei
