Avalanche's Calvin Pickard: Plays well in loss

Pickard allowed a single goal on 35 shots Monday, but it wasn't enough in a 1-0 loss to Arizona.

Analysis:

The young netminder did all he could to pull out a victory, but the skaters in front of him were stymied by Coyotes veteran Mike Smith, who stopped all 22 shots the Avs mustered. Pickard hasn't done much with the starter's opportunity in lieu of Semyon Varlamov (hip, shut down for season) this year, posting a 2.87 GAA to go with a slightly better .910 save percentage and 12 wins in 39 appearances. That said, the Avs have had trouble putting the puck in the net all season, so Pickard probably hasn't been as bad as his numbers suggest.