ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the first time in 2016-17, Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie missed a game Thursday night.
Barrie didn’t practice Wednesday and wasn’t in the lineup against the Ducks because of a lower body injury. The Avalanche said he is day to day and coach Jared Bednar didn’t rule out Barrie playing on Saturday at San Jose.
“It’s something that kind of popped up (Tuesday) after the game and didn’t get any better overnight, so we’re just going to have to re-evaluate him again (Friday) and see if he’s going to be good to go for San Jose,” Bednar said.
Colorado now has only three players who have appeared in all 43 games — Nathan MacKinnon, 21; Carl Soderberg, 31; and Jarome Iginla, 39. In fact, Soderberg has played in 212 consecutive games, Iginla 207.
The Avalanche’s only healthy scratch was center Joe Colborne.
Net effect. Calvin Pickard made his 20th start of the season in the Avalanche net against the Ducks.
This is the third time this season that groin muscle issues have made Semyon Varlamov unavailable, and the Thursday game was the 11th for which the 28-year-old Russian didn’t suit up. Previously, he was unavailable for one game (Nov. 26) with an upper body injury, then for stretches of three games (Dec. 14-18) and six games (Dec. 23-Jan. 4), also with the groin problems.
Spencer Martin, 21, was called up from San Antonio for the fourth time this season to back up Calvin Pickard. With the Rampage, Martin is 15-9-2 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Going into the game against the Ducks, he had yet to play a second for the Avalanche. With Varlamov shut down until at least after the Jan. 29 All-Star Game, Martin is likely to get a start soon.
The ripple effect of Varlamov’s latest absence was felt in Loveland. With Martin joining the Avalanche, the Rampage called up goalie Kent Simpson from the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. With the Eagles, Simpson is 3-5-0-1, with a 2.70 goals-against and a .908 save percentage. He’ll back up Jeremy Smith with the Rampage.
Lineup. The nightly roll call of NHL scouts with seats in the press box: Sean Burke (Canadiens), John Hill (Blue Jackets), Brian Mackasey (Wild), Chris Cichocki (Oilers), Brian Sutherby (Capitals), Mike Penny (Maple Leafs), Rob Laird (Kings), Vaclav Nedomansky (Golden Knights), John Van Boxmeer (Sabres) and Gerry O’Flaherty (Lightning). Feel free to start your own rumors.
Off-ice, on-ice. The Avalanche didn’t have a morning skate, instead remaining at the hotel for aerobic work and meetings. The Avalanche is scheduled to practice Friday in San Jose, at the Sharks’ practice facility — appropriately named Sharks Ice.
