Barberio may return Thursday to bolster Avalanche’s defense
SAN JOSE, CALIF.» Mark Barberio was still skating Wednesday after many of his Avalanche teammates had left the SAP Center for lunch. Long after practice ended, Barberio continued to train — doing everything he could to increase his conditioning to make up for his 33-game injury absence.
Barberio, a top-four defenseman when he last played for the Avs, on Jan. 23 at Montreal, is a candidate to return to the lineup Thursday against the San Jose Sharks in another massive game in Colorado’s playoff pursuit. The Avs entered Wednesday’s games leading St. Louis by a point for the final Western Conference wildcard spot.
If the Avs finish 2-0 — including a win in regulation Saturday in the season finale against the Blues at the Pepsi Center — they will make the playoffs for the first time in four years. The question is: Can the Avs count on a guy who hasn’t played a game for more than two months?
“He’s clearly getting close,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of Barberio. “Big decision (Thursday) because he’s been out for so long.”
Barberio’s injury is somewhat of a secret, with the team only saying it’s “upper-body.” The player chose not to reveal it Wednesday during the first time he has been eligible to speak to the media since Jan. 23.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “It’s just great to be around the boys again, to be in the dressing room and talking amongst the guys. It’s the little things you miss. We still have two
games left, and they’re really important games in this regular season. The boys have been doing a great job. I’ve been watching closely. I’ve been their biggest fan. I’m just excited to maybe get a chance to help out again.”
If Barberio makes Thursday’s lineup, the one guy he won’t replace is Patrik Nemeth, who was picked up on waivers from Dallas in the preseason. Nemeth leads the Avs with a plus-25 rating, which is tied for 14th-best in the NHL and sixth among defensemen.
“It’s an impressive stat for a defending defenseman who doesn’t rack up a whole bunch of points and isn’t in on a lot of goals for our team,” Bednar said of Nemeth, a primary penalty-killer who does not play on the power play. “That just shows you how good he is defensively and how much he cares about it — how much work he puts in it.”
Nemeth, 26, was never a plus player in four seasons with Dallas. He was minus-4 in 40 games for the Stars last season.
“The fact that we’re in playoff position and that I’m playing regularly means more than the stat,” Nemeth said. “It is what it is. It’s better than being a bad stat. But it says that you can play. Dallas didn’t work out. It’s been better here.”
The Sharks, who have lost four consecutive games (0-3-1) in their quest to clinch home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs, blew a 2-0 lead in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to visiting Dallas, eliminated earlier from the playoffs.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing that they lost or a bad thing,” Bednar said of the Sharks. “Sometimes you get a hungrier team after a loss and sometimes you get in a little funk and it’s hard to get out of it. It’s about us. We know we’re playing a real good team here in the Sharks. We have to come out with a full 60minute effort and have everyone pushing the cart in the same direction.”