Semyon Varlamov should have cost himself the opportunity to play in net for this team for the rest of the season. As long as the Avs are in contention, his services are no longer necessay. Varlamov’s uninspired performance Tuesday night against the Edmonton Oilers was his third loss in a row. While Varlamov is not entirely responsible for the loss, he did not do a thing to help the team win.
Varlamov made 20 of 23 saves, letting in three goals. The first period saw a goal for the Oilers by Jordan Eberle, his 19th. Eberle is about to become a 20-goal scorer that no one has ever heard of. Eric Belanger got the team’s second goal, as Galiardi sat in the penalty box for four minutes. The last goal Varlamov let in was the worst, a soft goal for Taylor Hall. Hall can also score with talent and does not need to be given goals.
The usual culprits did not step up for the Avalanche in the game. Paul Statsny only managed an assist in the game, Erik Johnson took only one shot, and I’m starting to forget that David Jones still plays for the Avalanche. The defense did a passable job slowing down the attack on Varlamov, but probably not enough. The Avs got 35 shots on net, but played down two goals for most of the game.
On the bright side, Peter Mueller scored another goal and continues to look healthy. Gabriel Landeskog had a nice stickhandling goal, where he drove the puck around Edmonton’s goalie Dubnyk for the score. The Avs seemed to be in the game until the final minute, but they just could not find the back of the net.
The Avalanche will play against Minnesota at home on Thursday. They still sit only one point behind the Wild and could retake eighth place with a victory. Hopefully goalie J.S. Giguere can carry the team from here.
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