COLORADO SPRING?: SEMYON VARLAMOV What a difference a season makes especially after the start the Colorado Avalanche had last year. With new Head Coach Patrick Roy behind the bench, the team immediately adapted to the rookie coach's boisterous way and took the NHL by surprise; and what better coach to have than a former elite NHL goaltender to guide and push you to greater heights. Semyon Varlamov showed tremendous poise in 2009 playoffs and beyond when he took over for erratic starter Jose Theodore, who lost Game 1 against the NY Rangers, and blanked the Blueshirts in his first NHL playoff start by the score of 4-0. Varlamov eventually led the Washington Capitals to the second round with the series win over the Rangers.  He entered the 2009-2010 season vying for the starter's role and took over when Theodore got off to a slow start.  Varlamov won his first 5 starts that year and was 12-1-2 before going down with an injury.  The future did indeed seem bright for the young goaltender. The following season Varlamov was able to post decent metrics with a 2.23 GAA and a .924 SP but the team wasn't winning as his record when playing was 11-9-5.   It appeared on paper that young Russian goaltender was the Capitals starter as Jose Theodore wasn't resigned but he lost out to the hot new guy in Michal Neuvirth who almost had a similar start to his rookie season as Varly once did.  Neuvirth went 8-2-3 in his first 11 starts wresting the starting job from Varlamov.   Varlamov, a restricted free-agent, was traded on July 1, 2011 for 2 high draft picks from the Colorado Avalanche, as he was made available because of Neuvirth's stellar play. The Avalanche signed him to a three-year contract worth $8.5 million the next day.  He was just mediocre in his first season with the Avalanche, appearing in a career high 53 NHL games.  Then there was the "Lockout" season where he was just atrocious in net after returning from the KHL where he had spectacular numbers. Enter 2013 and Patrick Roy. We all knew what a great goaltender Roy was, but he had never coached an NHL before.  Well, those questions were answered right away as the Avalanche lost just 1 game in the month of October and Varlamov went 7-1-0 during that month.  The Avalanche goaltender slipped a little in November but ended the season with a 41- 14-6 record with a 2.41 GAA and a .920 SP.  He had finally arrived.  In the first round of the playoffs that year, he managed to take the Minnesota Wild to a 7th game but lost in overtime. The 2014-2015 look so promising for the Avalanche as their core players were gaining experience and had enjoyed a season of winning except that Varlamov got off to such a slow start putting Colorado behind the 8-ball as they wouldn't catch teams by surprise this year. Varlamov couldn't seem to find consistency, which is major component to a goaltender's game, as he started the year with a 2-4-4 record.  This inconsistency seems to be plaguing Varlamov throughout his career so far.  He has shown flashes of brilliance but also has shown periods where he is fighting the puck.  With Semyon Varlamov, it seems like it is hit-or-miss as to which fantasy goaltender you will get. It is almost a given that you trade him when he is at the top of his game and ‘buy-low; when he is at the absolute bottom because you know those trends will reverse themselves.  It's almost a given.  Varlamov has returned from a groin injury right before Christmas and will see the majority of starts for the remainder of the season as the Avs look to get back into the playoff picture.  Since his return, Colorado has gone 6-2-0 and is just 4 points behind the wild card spot.  If the Avalanche have any chance of making the playoffs, it will have to be on the back of Semyon Varlamov and we all know that he is capable of turning in such a performance.  Then again, we also know that he could disappear altogether. With the team starting to gel, I'm counting on the former. POST MARKS: BACKUP ZEPP FILE--With Steve Mason down for a few weeks, it looks like Philly will give Robert Zepp a few starts to reward him for his fine play in the AHL. Ray Emery has been a bit of a disappointment in his backup role so the Flyers just may see if they have a future, and more affordable, backup on hand.....HOW ARE WE DOING?--It's more like, ‘how are we going to do?' Losing a starting goalie like Jimmy Howard to a groin injury, as he was turning in a good rebound season, would be devastating to most NHL teams, but the Detroit Red wings always seem to have the right replacement at just the right point in their development to step in. Petr Mrazek gets the nod with Jonas Gustavsson still recovering from his injury and the Red wings don't expect to miss a beat; and neither do we! Mrazek was a 5th round draft pick in 2010 and has appeared in 20 NHL games over the past 3 years and made 15 starts.