Teams Getting Goalies Back From Injury
The Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche have been without their starting goaltenders recently. They’ve done well with their backups–Montreal’s Mike Condon and Colorado’s Reto Berra–but the Habs and Avs will be glad to have their top line goalies back in the lineup. Montreal’s Carey Price has already made his return to game action while Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov has been activated off of injured reserve.
Montreal hardly missed a beat with 24 year old rookie Mike Condon filling in for Price. During Price’s absence the Habs went 5-2-2 with Condon starting all nine games. It did appear that he started to wear down near the end of the run but that’s very much to be expected for any rookie goaltender. It takes time to develop the physical and mental toughness to be a starting goalie in the NHL and considering that Condon was thrown in the ‘deep end’ to sink or swim he performed remarkably. While Montreal is very glad to have Price back between the pipes defenseman P.K. Subban underscored the obvious–that the Canadiens are now more than Price and a bunch of other guys: “At the end of the day, he’s an important part of our team, but we have other important parts as well. Together, as a group, we can do a lot of damage.” It’s even more impressive considering how the Habs have struggled without Price in recent years. This year, however, they’re 8-2-0 with Price and 7-2-2 when Condon starts. In the big picture, Price’s recent injury could end up being a positive. The team gained a lot of confidence in being able to win without him and now they’ve got a viable backup goalie in Condon that has proven to be capable even if he has to fill in for a long stretch.
Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov is a different matter. Reto Berra has been competent in his absence but the Avs desperately need Varlamov to return to form. He’s been downright awful for most of this season. Varlamov is 3-6-1 with a 3.26 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. He’s expected to get the start on Monday as the Avalanche play the Winnipeg Jets.