Avalanche's Calvin Pickard: Starting Wednesday against Vancouver

Pickard was named the starting goaltender for Wednesday's home tilt against the Canucks.

Analysis:

With Semyon Varlamov (groin) on the trainer's table until at least Jan. 31, Pickard will assume the bulk of the Avs' goaltending responsibilities for the near future. Despite being a reliable backup for the last two seasons, Pickard has seen a dip in his stats as he's played more games during this campaign (already at 22 games played this season, compared to a previous career-high of 20). Another explanation for Pickard's drop in play could be that he's playing with a listless team in front of him, with the Avalanche last in the league in both goals for and goals against.