Semyon Varlamov stopped everything – including a hard-crashing Chicago player late in the third period.
Only Authentic Customized Ravens Jerseys , the collision took its toll: sending the Colorado goaltender flying into the net and knocking him out of the game.
Varlamov stopped 30 shots before leaving with an apparent injury, and the Avalanche continued their playoff push with a 5-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday night.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar had no update on Varlamov’s status after the victory.
Varlamov was cruising along until Blackhawks forward Tomas Jurco tumbled into his left pad with 6:25 remaining. Varlamov was looked at by trainers before Jonathan Bernier skated in to finish the game.
Bernier, who stopped three shots, and Varlamov combined for the first team shutout in franchise history, according to the Avalanche.
Losing Varlamov – who has a history of groin issues – would be a blow for an Avalanche squad that remains in contention a season after finishing with a league-worst 48 points.
”Varly keeps us in it for a while and then we get our legs going,” Bednar said. ”We have to take care of our business. That’s all we can do.”
Collin Delia stopped 31 shots for last-place Chicago. He made his NHL debut the night before, but left in the third due to cramps. That opened the door for Scott Foster, a 36-year-old accountant who made an emergency appearance and became an instant feel-good story.
Delia was impressed by the speed of the Avalanche, whose scoring attack was led by Sven Andrighetto’s two goals . Tyson Barrie, Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost also scored.
Colorado converted each of its three power plays. Rantanen’s goal with the man advantage in the third came off a feed from Nathan MacKinnon, who now has 93 points. It’s the most by an Avalanche player since Joe Sakic had 100 in 2006-07.
Barrie gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead at 8:14 of the second period with a shot near the blue line. Barrie then saved a potential goal minutes later when he swatted away a puck that had trickled through the pads of Varlamov, who was back in net after missing a game with an illness.
”It was probably my fault that the puck was even that close to the goal line,” Barrie said. ”So, it’s fortunate that I could get a stick on it a couple of times.”
Andrighetto scored the game’s first goal on a power play late in the first period. He skated in, split two defensemen and lifted a shot over Delia for his first goal since Dec. 23 at Arizona. He has missed a total of 31 games this season with what’s been termed by the team as a lower-body injury.
”Definitely a big win for us and we’ve got to keep that going,” Andrighetto said.
Chicago called up goaltender J-F Berube on the heels of Foster’s appearance against Winnipeg on Thursday. Foster was summoned into action when starter Anton Forsberg was hurt during pregame and Delia, who was just recalled from the minors Authentic Vladimir Tarasenko Jersey , went out with cramps.
The NHL adjusted its rules last summer to mandate that teams have an emergency goalie present for all home games ready to fill in for either side. Foster, a former goaltender at Western Michigan University, stopped all seven shots.
Foster made an immediate impression.
”What are the chances that someone else ever gets to do that again?” Delia said. ”It was good for him and the boys really rallied around him.”
NOTES: Blackhawks D Blake Hillman made his NHL debut. He recently signed a two-year deal with the team after playing down the road at the University of Denver. … Bernier is quickly mending after suffering a cut on his finger that became infected. ”It was pretty bad,” Bernier said. ”Lucky enough, didn’t need surgery.” … Avalanche D Erik Johnson was a late scratch with a lower-body injury. … It was the Avalanche’s 27th home win, which is tied for second-most in franchise history.
UP NEXT
Blackhawks: At St. Louis on Wednesday.
Avalanche: Start a three-game trip Sunday in Anaheim.
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OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — Randy Gregory understands the prevailing view that repeated use of marijuana is the reason the Dallas Cowboys defensive end has been suspended for 30 of the past 32 games.
Now that he’s on the verge of playing after a year away from the NFL, the former Nebraska standout wants people to know there are deeper issues of mental health that Gregory isn’t comfortable discussing in detail publicly.
“I was self-sabotaging,” Gregory said Monday in his first group session with reporters at training camp in California. “Anybody that deals with what I have to deal with and what I’ve gone through and understands the process of what I’ve been through, I think can understand there’s also a mental aspect to it along with emotional.”
Gregory was suspended three times in less than a year Cam Atkinson Jersey Kids , the last a yearlong ban for multiple violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy. He missed the 2017 season and waited an extra six months to apply for reinstatement to try to improve his chances.
The detailed application included letters of recommendation from several teammates, most notably 2016 All-Pro linebacker Sean Lee, and won the approval of Commissioner Roger Goodell in time for Gregory to join the Cowboys at camp.
Gregory’s time away included stints in rehab and therapy, and the 25-year-old acknowledged that he had to learn to take those efforts more seriously.
“It’s not just somebody walking around carelessly doing what they want,” Gregory said. “There’s obviously a mental aspect to it that plays a big part in it for me that I’ve had to try to figure out. The moment I took a more serious approach to that with my therapy and the more people around me understood what I was going through mentally, made it a lot easier for me to get right.”
The Cowboys drafted Gregory late in the second round in 2015. He was considered a first-round talent before testing positive for marijuana at the combine.
Gregory made it through his first season without getting suspended, missing four games with an ankle injury but going without a sack in his 12 appearances. The first suspension was announced in the offseason, followed by a 10-game ban before the four-game suspension had expired.
He played the final two games in 2016, finally getting his first sack in the finale when the Cowboys had already wrapped up the NFC East title. The third suspension hit before Dallas lost a divisional playoff game to Green Bay.
“We try to keep our eyes wide open about what any issues a player might have coming in and we’re optimistic if we put them in the right environment they can respond the right way,” coach Jason Garrett said. “It will not be 100 percent successful. But we’ve had a lot of players who have grown a lot in our organization.”
The Cowboys brought Gregory along slowly at camp http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kentavius-street-jersey , first allowing him to participate in pre-practice walkthrough sessions. Individual drills in practice were next, and finally some 11-on-11 work for the first time this week.
Owner Jerry Jones, never afraid to gamble on draft picks and equally willing to stick with them, said he thinks Gregory can be ready for the opener at Carolina on Sept. 9.
“We certainly have had players that have had challenges with dependence,” Jones said. “Now the problem is reality sets in and you have numbers and roster spots. You get the old adage of, ‘Well, he wouldn’t be doing that for a down-the-line guy or he wouldn’t be that tolerant of a down-the-line guy.’ That’s actually very true.”
Three years after vowing to Jones that he would do his best to overcome the issues that led to him slipping in the draft, Gregory is cautiously optimistic that can deliver with his second chance.
“I think first and foremost they like me as not only a player but as a person,” Gregory said. “I’ve always tried to do the right thing. I know I always haven’t. But I’ve tried. I think they realized I was a person in need and sticking by me throughout that tough part and even now has been real important for me to get back. And I think it’s worked.”
The Cowboys and Gregory will find out soon enough.