Bernier Set To Start Against Former Team

TORONTO--Jonathan Bernier getting the start in net shouldn't be a surprise. He's guarded the Colorado Avalanche's pipes for eight straight games, getting the start in the last six.
Bernier hasn't dropped any of those decisions, with his eight consecutive wins setting a new personal best and helping the Avs win nine games in a row--the best in the league this season.
The Avalanche goaltender's matchup versus the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight will have at least some significance for him, as Bernier will play at Air Canada Centre against his former team for the first time since being traded two summers ago to the Anaheim Ducks.

"I don't know if it adds to the pressure other than motivating us to play well in front of him," said Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog of the team's starting goalie this evening. "Obviously, we faced Anaheim last week and he was real solid. I think as a group, we were strong as well. We're going to want to go out there and win it for Bernie, but I think first and foremost is winning and making sure that we keep going. It's hard to string wins together in this league. So when you're on a roll like this, you want to keep it going."
This won't be the first time that Bernier has played against the Leafs, as he faced them last year on March 3 in Anaheim and made 37 saves in a 5-2 victory.
Bernier played 151 contests with the Maple Leafs from 2013 to 2016 and was the No. 1 goalie for much of his time with the franchise. His tenure ended on July 8, 2016 when he was traded to the Ducks for future considerations.
Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock only had the 29-year-old as a player for the goalie's final season in Toronto and has come away impressed with Bernier's game since his departure.
"I just had him in the year when we didn't win any games. We were the worst team in the National Hockey League, so if you're the goaltender on that team, how much fun is that?," Babcock said of Bernier after the Leafs' morning skate. "Obviously the good thing about Bernie is that he's been mentally tough to find his way back and get his career going the way he wants. He's playing good right now, and that's what you want to do, isn't it? I think it's one of the toughest spots in sport, for sure, to be a goalie and consistency from year to year. To find that, good for him."

The Laval, Quebec, native put together a solid 21-7-4 record in 39 games for the Ducks last season, and he propelled that into signing a one-year contract with the Avalanche as a free agent in July.
He's been equally strong this season for Colorado, posting a 13-7-1 overall record, a 2.61 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
During his eight-game win streak, which is the longest by an Avalanche keeper since Patrick Roy had an 11-game run from Jan. 12 to Feb. 7, 1999, Bernier has recorded a 1.47 goals-against average and .958 save percentage.
His recent play has given his teammates the opportunity to create more offense because of it.
"You play with a bit more confidence and a bit more aggressiveness too knowing that if a mistake is made or missed coverage that he's been so sharp and on the ball that he'll be there to bail us out," defenseman Mark Barberio said. "It's huge."

The reason Bernier is getting set to play his ninth consecutive contest is two-fold. First, Avalanche No. 1 goalie Semyon Varlamov has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury after leaving in the second period of the Jan. 2 contest against the Winnipeg Jets. And second, the netminder has been playing lights out and is showing that he deserves to start every night.
"He's been big for us," said Avs head coach Jared Bednar. "This is the second time that he's come in for a longer stretch of time, Varly got sick earlier… He's been patient, waiting for his opportunity, filling in in some games here and there. Now with Varly going down with a little bit of a longer injury, I mean he's been outstanding, especially over this homestand. It's good to see a guy like him have success because he's been a great teammate and supporting Varly through the first part of the season for the most part."
Varlamov has been skating for the past week and continued to do so on Monday as he was on the ice for Colorado's morning practice in Toronto. His timetable for a return to action is still set for after this weekend's NHL All-Star Break.
Bednar will have a decision to make once Varlamov returns on who will get the starts, but he'll also have one on Tuesday when the Avalanche completes its eighth back-to-back set of the season in Montreal. Will Bernier get the start in his hometown? Or do the Avs go with the rested Andrew Hammond, who has been Colorado's backup for nine games this season but has yet to see any game action.
That decision will likely depend on the outcome this evening.

GETTING CLOSER

Injured Colorado forward Sven Andrighetto and defenseman Tyson Barrie participated in today's morning skate wearing red, non-contact jerseys and could return to game action sometime during the club's road trip.
"Those guys are obviously getting close," said head coach Jared Bednar of the two hurt skaters. "They're on the road trip skating with us. It's hard to say; I would say they're becoming day-to-day now instead of week-to-week. There is a possibility that we could see them at some point on this trip, but no guarantees at this point."
Barrie has missed the last 10 games after fracturing his hand on Dec. 23 in a game at the Arizona Coyotes, while Andrighetto has been out for the past seven contests with a lower-body injury.

FIRST-STAR MACKINNON

Nathan MacKinnon was named the NHL's first star of the week earlier today.
MacKinnon, who will represent the Avalanche at this weekend's NHL All-Star Game in Tampa, tallied four goals and two assists in three contests last week. He is on a nine-game point streak (eight goals and 11 assists) and five-game goal streak.

The Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native is second in the league in scoring with 59 points (23 goals and 36 assists), just two points behind leader Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (61).
"The way Nate's been playing, he's been giving us a lot of confidence," said Gabriel Landeskog, a linemate of MacKinnon's. "He's showing that he's a top player in the league."
MacKinnon was named the league's third star of the week ending on Nov. 19 and was later recognized as the first star for the month of November.

STREAK BY THE NUMBERS

The Avalanche has won nine-straight games, equaling the second-longest streak in franchise history and is the longest by an NHL team this season. Here are some numbers from the club's impressive run:
0:00 - The time the Avalanche has trailed during its win streak. Colorado has led for 372:05 and has been tied for 176:10.
8 - The Avs have won eight straight games at home, tying the team record for the longest since moving to Denver in 1995-96. Colorado now heads out on the road where they play 13 of its next 16 contests.
10 - Colorado has scored 10 first-period goals and has allowed only two.
15 - The Avs have picked up at least a point in 15 of their last 18 contests, posting a 14-3-1 record in that time.
19 - Nathan MacKinnon has recorded 19 points during the nine-game win streak and has picked up at least a point in each outing. He has eight goals and 11 assists during his streak, which is the second-longest of his career. His nine-game run with at least a point in the longest by an Avs skater since 2013-14 when he had a point in 13 games and Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog each had at least one in nine contests.
23 - The team's goal differential. The Avs have outscored their opponents 37-14 during the win streak.
31.0 - The Avalanche's power-play percentage after scoring nine goals on 29 attempts.
90.0 - Colorado's penalty-kill percentage, as the team has only allowed three man-advantage goals against (27-for-30).

PROJECTED LINEUP

Head coach Jared Bednar said he wouldn't make any changes to his lineup after today's morning skate at Air Canada Centre.
Forwards A.J. Greer and Colin Wilson and defenseman David Warsofsky will be the healthy scratches.

Here are the projected line combinations and defensive pairings:
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Dominic Toninato - Alex Kerfoot - Nail Yakupov
Matt Nieto - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Gabriel Bourque - Tyson Jost - J.T. Compher
Nikita Zadorov - Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth - Mark Barberio
Samuel Girard - Anton Lindholm
Jonathan Bernier
Andrew Hammond