New dilemma: Two No. 1 goalies
BUFFALO, N .Y. » Fresh off its first loss of the season, the Avalanche will turn to undefeated goalie Semyon Varlamov in Thursday’s game against the Sabres at KeyBank Center.
Varlamov (20) will step in for newcomer Philipp Grubauer (01), who stopped 30of34 shots in Tuesday’s 52 loss at Columbus. The switch is somewhat surprising, based on what coach Jared Bednar said about Grubauer after Tuesday’s game and what the coach previously said would be an evenandopen competition to become the clearcut No. 1 guy.
“I thought he was great. I got to be honest with you, we hung him out to dry on a number of those goals,” Bednar said of Grubauer, who was acquired in a June trade with the Washington Capitals. “But I thought he was sharp in making saves for us early. Not much you can do on some of those — one is a 5on3 powerplay goal. I feel bad for him. We have to be better than that in front of any goalie.”
But Varlamov is back in net Thursday. Bednar has his reasons. And fans and media should let the “Who’s No. 1” thing go. They’re just not accustomed to the Avs having two No. 1 goalies. In Varlamov’s seven previous years with the Avs, he’s always been “the” guy when healthy.
This season, who’s starting the next game isn’t as important as having Varlamov and Grubauer both healthy and available to play. But, win or lose Thursday, there’s probably an excellent chance Grubauer gets the start Saturday at the Pepsi Center against Calgary.
Grubauer said this after Tues day’s loss: “They outcompeted in the first period. They were a step quicker and as soon as they’re a step quicker obviously they get to pucks first. We got to clean it up. The way we played in the second period was good. We got pucks out pretty fast. The longer we held on to them, the more trouble create.”
What unfolded Tuesday night won’t occur often this season. The Avs are in good shape defensively, with their goalies and defensemen. The bigger, more important issue remains secondary scoring, and how quickly those speedy young forwards develop into reliable scorers.
Footnotes.
The Avs practiced at KeyBank Center on Wednesday afternoon. Afterward, Bednar said rookie forward Vladislav Kamenev would make his season debut Thursday and defenseman Patrik Nemeth will return to the lineup after missing the last two games with a minor injury. Bednar wouldn’t name scratches but Kamenev likely will replace rookie Sheldon Dries, who took two penalties in logging just 7:01 Tuesday, and Nemeth will probably come in for Mark Barberio. … Buffalo will conclude a seasonopening fourgame homestand Thursday before embarking on a fivegame trip against Pacific Division foes. The Sabres are 20 since losing their home opener 40 to the Boston Bruins. … Firstyear Buffalo goalie Carter Hutton is 51 in six career games against the Avalanche. While playing with St. Louis last season, he went 30 with a .951 save percentage against the Avs.