Varly in 19th consecutive game; Bernier cleared for backup duty

Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov played in his 19th consecutive game Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings, but Jonathan Bernier — who was cleared to serve as the backup after missing the last five games, and 13-of16, with head injuries — replaced him late in the second period when L.A. took a 5-1 lead.

Bernier, who replaced rookie Spencer Martin in the lineup, will be the likely starter Saturday when the Avs host the Vegas Golden Knights, and Colorado will again have its preferred rotation. Bernier is sporting a new unpainted helmet, presumably designed to better protect him from another concussion. Martin was reassigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League.

The Avs, who were coming off a 5-1 victory Tuesday at Chicago, had two other lineup changes: Center Vladislav Kamenev replaced Dominic Toninato on a line with wingers Matt Nieto and Blake Comeau, and defenseman Duncan Siemens stepped in for David Warsofsky on the third pairing with Sam Girard.

Veteran center Carl Soderberg, who usually plays with Nieto and Comeau, missed his second consecutive game because of illness.

The Avs’ healthy scratches were Toninato, Warsofsky, forward Nail Yakupov and defensemen Mark Alt and Anton Lindholm.

Defenseman Mark Barberio (upper body) and goalie Andrew Hammond (concussion) are on the injured list.

Footnotes.

The Kings’ first-period power-play goal Thursday was just the fifth man-advantage tally allowed by the Avs in their last 25 home games. Colorado led the NHL in penalty-killing percentage at home (93 percent) entering the game. … The Avs entered Thursday with points in 11 of their last 12 games (8-1-3) and had gone 15-2-1 in their last 18 games at the Pepsi Center. … The Avs entered the game with a franchise-record 18 empty-net goals, second-most in the NHL behind Minnesota (19). … Center Nathan MacKinnon took a 13-game points streak (13 goals, 13 assists) into the game and Tyson Barrie had points in his previous 11 games, the longest points streak in club history among defensemen.