What a difference 48 hours makes.
On Saturday, Colorado lost to Montreal with a pair of AHL farmhands on the roster in Calvin Pickard and Sami Aittokallio.
But on Monday, it sounded as though their two big-leaguers -- Reto Berra and Semyon Varlamov -- were ready to get back into action.
Berra practiced fully, which was a development in itself, but the big news was that head coach Patrick Roy confirmed Varlamov, currently on IR with a groin strain, would be back in goal Friday when the Avs hosted the Canucks in Denver.
Varlamov hasn’t played since stopping 37 of 40 shots in an OT loss to Toronto last Tuesday. That opened the door for Berra to assume starting duties, but his reign as No. 1 didn’t last very long -- Berra was bowled over by Kyle Turris early in Thursday’s loss to Ottawa, and was replaced by Pickard.
Roy said that if Berra feels OK following Monday’s skate, he’ll be in goal when the Avs host the Panthers tomorrow night.
Related: The Martin Brodeur questions have started for Colorado