Semyon Varlamov out at least two more weeks for the Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche have been without their starting goaltender since Semyon Varlamov left their January 2nd game against the Winnipeg Jets. Now, the Denver Post is reporting that Varlamov will be sidelined for at least another two weeks.

The Avalanche are being coy about the specifics of Varly’s ailment, stating only that it’s a “lower-body muscular injury”.

The 29-year old has a long history of groin injuries. As bad as it would be for him to have suffered another one, it’s the more favorable alternative to the potential that he re-injured the hip that put him out long-term last year. Varlamov’s 2016-17 season was cut short when he needed surgery to repair the hip just over 11 months ago.

While no timeline has been given, we know that Varlamov has not been on then ice with the team since suffering the injury ten days ago, but that the coaching staff hopes to have him back at practice before the All-Star game on January 28th.

Though he has struggled through parts of the season, Jonathan Bernier has been incredible in Varlamov’s absence, having been in net for four of the games during the team’s current five-game winning streak.

Bernier has put up an amazing .957 sv% since Varlamov’s injury - earning him the NHL’s second star of the week.

To fill out the lineup, the Avs have recalled Andrew Hammond from the AHL. The 29-year old came to the organization in the Matt Duchene trade but hasn’t seen any NHL game action yet this season.

The Avs have a back-to-back on January 22-23 in Toronto and Montreal, so it’s likely that we won’t see Hammond in net until one of those games - likely the one against the Canadiens.