ZzHockey

"Avalanche - Thats That."

25 Years Old • Male

Roy, "Pickard won't be sent down."

The duel for back-up in Denver seems to be over, though it is not 100% sure what Colorado will do. Just a few weeks ago, Calvin Pickard was re-assigned to Lake Erie even though he had played out of him mind for the Colorado Avalanche. The young goaltender was sent back due to the fact that Semyon Varlamov was healthy and Reto Berra was their number two. Their other reason was for developmental reasons, where Calvin would get to play more in Lake Erie where in Colorado Varlamov was expect to get back to back to back games over and over. Leaving Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic with no choice than to keep the best interest of Calvin above all else.

After Semyon Varlamov went down, Calvin Pickard was called back up, to play and he would not sit on the bench as Coach Roy seemed to have no confidence in Reto Berra. Reto Berra has appeared in one game since his back to back 1st period pulling. In that game, Berra played just over 16 minutes and allowed one goal on just seven shots, proving that mentally, he was not ready to be back in net.

With Calvin Pickard continuing his NHL head turning as the young goalie has allowed one goal in three straight games, winning two and losing a 1-0 overtime game in Pittsburgh. He has also allowed one goal in four of his last six NHL games. He sits second in the NHL with a .939 save percentage and 6th in the NHL with a 2.06 goals against average. Of the three Colorado goalies, Pickard has the best record at 6-5-2 although that could easily be a much better record had the Avalanche been able to score a few extra goals.

So what is next for the 22 year old? After his 34 save performance and 9 round shootout win against the Detroit Redwings, Patrick Roy is certain he is not sending the youngster back to Lake Erie, at least for now. When asked, “Varly is almost back, how tough is it to send Pickard back to Lake Erie?” Patrick would reply, “We’re not sending Pickard down.” “At this time, we’re not gonna send him down, and we’ll make decisions further down in time. But I mean for now, we’re not making any decision.” Roy would continue. When asked about taking Pickard out of the net even when Semyon Varlamov comes back, this is what he had to say. “Obviously it is not easy, but at the same time, let’s not forget what Varly did for us last year. Varly played so well for us, he was the reason why we had 112 points and won our division. Let’s not forget what he did for us, we will talk tomorrow and see if he is ready to play against the Blues, but if he is ready, he will play”


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