Colorado Avalanche: 5 Biggest Frustrations from 2014-15 Season
Goal Tending
Mar 14, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Calgary Flames right wing
David Jones(19) scores on Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) in the third period at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche defeated the Flames 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
In the 2013-14 season, stellar goal tending masked some of the team’s flaws. No question but goalie Semyon Varlamov played phenomenal hockey. And he had veteran JS Giguerre to back him up.
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This season, it wasn’t just that Giguerre had retired and that Reto Berra… well, he’s always struggled in an Avalanche uniform. It’s also that Varlamov’s groin went wonky, and he missed a lot of games due to that injury. No one has said, but it’s obvious it plagued him the whole season. He showed flashes of last season’s goalie, but he was nowhere near that level on a consistent basis.
Rookie Calvin Pickard came in and surprised all of us with his excellent goal tending. Yet he’s a rookie, and being an Avalanche goalie (facing lots of shots as the defense jumps into the offensive play) is rough. He was good, but he could never be consistently good any more than Varlamov could.
Which brings us to our last frustration of the season…