"It's important to be ready, be ready 100 percent, not like 80-85," the keeper said after the spirited workout. "If you feel like you're not ready or something's bothering you like a past injury, you have to continue to do treatment and then make sure you're ready 100 percent when you want to get back on the ice."
The 28-year-old puck stopper helped design the practice so he could prepare himself for all aspects and scenarios of a game. Although nothing will replace the unpredictable action of a match, that doesn't mean he can't mirror it as closely as possible.
"Today was a fun practice, actually. Me and [assistant coach] Tim Army, we spoke about practice today, what we should do, what kind of drills to make me feel better and more confident after this practice," said Varlamov. "He makes lots of good drills, like a game drill. They have the same moments that are happening in a game. I was pretty happy about the practice today."
The Avalanche's starting netminder last saw action in the team's 3-1 victory at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 11, where he had a stellar 51-save performance to seal the win.
Now, Varlamov will be counted on to help the Avs pull themselves out of their recent slump, which has seen the club go 1-4-0 in its last five contests. The Samara, Russia, native is hoping his return will give the team a boost, as he's expected to get the start in net on Tuesday when the Avalanche takes on the Minnesota Wild.
"We're all going to try to push back because this team never gives up. Right now, it looks like everything is going wrong, but I don't think so. We're battling every game. We're going to be playing until the end of the season," Varlamov said. "We can play with any team in this league. It's just up to us how we want to play, that's the thing. We need to be ready 100 percent tomorrow. Minnesota is a good team. We know they're on a streak, a winning streak, so hopefully we're going to break the streak tomorrow."
With Varlamov healthy, Colorado reassigned fill-in backup tender Spencer Martin to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League. Martin provided support behind Calvin Pickard, who started the last three games, during Varlamov's absence.
Martin has gone 7-7-0 for the Rampage while posting a .924 save percentage and a 2.31 goals-against average.
