The Colorado Avalanche are within reach of the playoffs, just a small step away in actuality, and if they are going to make it then Semyon Varlamov needs to go on a streak.
There are a ton of examples that point to the necessity of a good goaltender for a team to be successful, even a few this season.
Carey Price went down early in the season for the Montreal Canadiens, and they haven’t been the same team since his injury. The Edmonton Oilers could probably be a bit better if they had someone with skill manning the crease.
Petr Mrazek has faltered of late, and the Detroit Red Wings are suffering for it.
On the other end of things, Roberto Luongo has been on fire this season, and the Florida Panthers currently sit third in their division because of it.
Corey Schneider plays stellar every year, and the New Jersey Devils are always able to hang around in the standings even with a lackluster team in the midst of a rebuild.
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And it’s easy to see how valuable Devan Dubnyk was for the Minnesota Wild last season for their playoff push.
Enter Semyon Varlamov.
The Colorado Avalanche are in desperate need of hot hand to take over the goal crease because their schedule over the remainder of the season is difficult, and they’ll need outstanding play in net — among other things — in order to skate away with wins.
Semyon Varlamov’s Importance
The Colorado Avalanche are paying Semyon Varlamov nearly 6 million this year and the next. Management doesn’t pay a guy that much money unless he is an invaluable piece of the team’s core.
Unfortunately, Semyon Varlamov has been inconsistent this year, at best. In 45 starts this season, Varlamov has a 23-17-3 record, .914 save percentage, and 2.75 GAA.
That stat line is far removed from his 2013-14 campaign when he started 63 games, struck a 41-14-6 record, .927 save percentage, and 2.41 GAA.
It’s even far removed from last year’s campaign, when he started 57 games, had a 28-20-8 record, .921 save percentage, and 2.56 GAA.
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In each of the last two seasons Varly’s struggles have enhanced the struggles of the Colorado Avalanche because they are simply too dependent upon their goaltender.
Until that changes, goaltending will be of the utmost importance to the Colorado Avalanche.
Some might say that Calvin Pickard could take the reigns and lead this team to the playoffs, but that is simply not the case.
Calvin Pickard will be a huge part of this team’s future, but Semyon Varlamov is the goalie for this team now, and his play down the stretch will determine whether or not the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs.
Conclusion
Semyon Varlamov showed with a great game against the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night, and he obviously blanked the Anaheim Ducks last night.
Over the next fourteen days the Colorado Avalanche will play four games, while the Minnesota Wild will play seven, which means that we’ll finally have a few games in hand for once.
All four games will be played against Canadian teams, and not one Canadian team is currently playoff bound, or likely to be.
Furthermore, the combined win total of the four teams (Jets, Canucks, Flames, Oilers) in the last ten games is 11. All four teams are struggling mightily obviously, so the Colorado Avalanche need to take advantage on the road.
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Finally, since there are only four games in the next two weeks, Semyon Varlamov should be able to play in all four, especially if he continues to play consistently well.
The Avalanche will need to have a good road trip, and Semyon Varlamov will play a huge role in determining how successful they will be while on the road.