Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, pulled for the second time in five games Tuesday at Minnesota, worked up a good sweat Wednesday at team headquarters. He took shots from the three Avs who didn’t play in the troubling 6-3 loss against the Wild.

The remaining 19 players — including the new No. 1 goalie — didn’t skate.

Upstairs at coach Patrick Roy’s news conference, Varlamov’s demotion was framed as indefinite. The Colorado nets belong to Calvin Pickard, and only he will determine how long that lasts during the final 17 regular-season games.

Pickard, 23, has pushed aside Varlamov and his regular backup, Reto Berra, to earn the right to get the Avs back into the playoff picture. Berra was reassigned to the minors Monday. Varlamov will back up Pickard on Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers as the Avs begin a four-game homestand.

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“He competes and it’s all about hard work for him. He has to be proud of himself because he’s forced us to keep him and now he’s having an opportunity to play,” Roy said of Pickard. “We know Varly is going to come back. But right now Pickard seems just more confident than him.”

Varlamov’s save percentage Tuesday was .750. He was also less than .900 in his two previous starts, at Vancouver (.857) and against Detroit (.852) last week. He hasn’t won since Feb. 17, when he stopped 32-of-34 shots in a 3-2 victory against Montreal.

Pickard stopped 15-of-16 shots Tuesday against the Wild — he took the loss because he allowed the game-winning goal — and has won his past two starts. His save percentage in his past six appearances is .927 (202 saves on 218 shots).

“I’ve just been told I’m playing (Thursday),” Pickard said. “It’s a good opportunity for me. Every game is huge at this point. The only thing we’re looking for is the win.”

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He added: “It means a lot, having the confidence of your coaching staff and teammates. It’s something that’s important to me and makes me comfortable in the net. When I’m called upon, I feel comfortable in there.”

The Avs seem to have run out of patience with the inconsistent Varlamov, who has been outstanding at times. With Tuesday’s loss, they fell into a tie with Minnesota for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, but the Wild has played one game fewer.

Roy said he reminded Varlamov about the struggles of Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford last spring, and how he was replaced by backup Scott Darling for significant stretches.

“There’s some highs and some lows in a career, and right now he’s having some lows,” Roy said. “The best example I gave him was last year Chicago. Chicago against Nashville (in the playoffs), they went with Darling a few games and who won the Stanley Cup for them — it was Crawford in net.”

Ideally, Pickard will play every game in the upcoming four-game homestand, because it will mean he’s giving the Avs a chance to win each game. Roy can’t afford to turn to Varlamov until Pickard fails.

“The homestand is going to be very important, but I think the best approach is taking one at a time starting against the Panthers,” Roy said.

Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers

FLORIDA AT COLORADO 7 p.m. Thursday, ALT; 950 AM

Spotlight on Aleksander Barkov:

The Panthers center was picked second in the 2013 NHL draft behind the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon. Born a day apart in 1995, both are in their third full seasons. Barkov has 19 goals and 39 points in 47 games this year. MacKinnon has one more goal and nine more points in 18 more games. In their careers, MacKinnon has 15 more goals and 50 more points than Barkov.

NOTEBOOK

Panthers:

They are on a five-game road trip, having gone 1-1-1 thus far. They are 16-10-4 on the road. … They have lost six of their past nine road games since winning a team-record six consecutive from Dec. 15 to Jan. 10. … Florida leads the Atlantic Division with 80 points and is tied with the New York Rangers for second-most in the Eastern Conference behind Metropolitan leader Washington (96). … Goalie Roberto Luongo is 8-1 with a 1.53 goals-against average in his past nine starts against the Avalanche. Luongo has a 1.82 GAA in his past five games.

Avalanche:

Coach Patrick Roy said he will use the same lineup as he did Tuesday, with forward Andreas Martinsen and defensemen Zach Redmond and Andrew Bodnarchuk scratched. … Colorado is only 14-14-4 at home. … In their past four games, the Avs have allowed 11 third-period goals. … Jarome Iginla has 608 career goals, tied with Dino Ciccarelli for 17th all time. … Colorado lost 4-1 at Florida on Oct. 27.

Mike Chambers, The Denver Post