Colorado goalie Jonathan Bernier languished on the Avalanche bench for 10 games as the 29-year old Canadian recovered from a concussion before finally returning to the ice Saturday at Arizona.
The thrill of rejoining an Avs team pushing for the playoffs was short-lived, though, as Bernier faced a familiar obstacle early in the second period of Colorado’s 5-2 victory.
“He took a slap-shot to the head,” Avs’ coach Jared Bednar said. “It kind of rung his bell a little bit.”
A sore neck led to a third-period departure for Bernier, Bednar added, as Colorado once again saw its hand forced making a change in net with Semyon Varlamov filling the void.