DALLAS — The Avalanche held a morning skate Thursday at American Airlines Center and goalie Calvin Pickard was particularly excited for the evening game against the Dallas Stars.
Pickard views it as a chance to redeem himself — or a return to normalcy after taking the loss in Tuesday’s 6-3 setback to the visiting Calgary Flames, who had four of their goals carom in off an Avalanche player.
“You could consider it a bounce-back,” Pickard said after the 40-minute skate. “The game against Calgary, I felt really good, got a really good start and made a lot of good saves. But at the same time, I let in six goals.”
He added: “It just wasn’t meant to be against Calgary. But it’s nice to have another opportunity here in Dallas tonight.”
The Avs, who are 8-9 on the road but a dreadful 4-12-1 at the Pepsi Center, have modest changes to their lineup. Fourth-line forward Cody McLeod is back in, replacing Joe Colborne, and defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will play after being scratched the last two games. Cody Goloubef is the odd-man out on the blue line.
Wiercioch missed the 2-1 overtime win at Chicago on Dec. 23, partly because he said he was “banged up.” Teams rarely make lineup changes after a big win, which is why he was scratched Tuesday against the Flames.
