The Colorado Avalanche may be without goaltender Reto Berra once the holiday break concludes after the 28-year-old suffered an ankle injury while playing soccer before Monday’s game. Berra underwent an MRI Tuesday, but results have not been released.

The Hockey News

You may be able to add Colorado Avalanche netminder Reto Berra to the list of goaltenders who have gone down with bizarre injuries in the past several seasons.

Berra, 28, didn’t get the call against the Maple Leafs Monday night but it turns out he would have been laboring had he been forced between the pipes, which is the main reason Avalanche coach Patrick Roy didn’t pull starting netminder Semyon Varlamov in Colorado’s 7-4 loss.

According to the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, Roy said Varlamov “looked tired” and said he wanted to take him out but wasn’t able to because Berra had suffered an ankle injury while playing soccer in the hallway before the game began.

The cause of Berra’s injury puts him in company with other netminders who have had to miss time because of ailments caused under strange circumstances. For instance, Chicago’s Corey Crawford suffered an injury last season at a concert and Ottawa’s Craig Anderson was out indefinitely in 2012-13 after slicing his hand while cooking dinner.

Berra underwent an MRI Tuesday, but the results have not been released. There’s never a good time for an injury, but it’s fortunate for the Avalanche that Berra’s ailment comes just as the holiday break is approaching and at a time when Varlamov is playing his best hockey of the season.

It would be unfortunate for Berra if he’s out for a significant period of time, especially because he’s found himself a spot in Colorado as the backup. Through 14 games, he has a 5-8-0 record, two shutouts, 2.41 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.

Drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round, 106th overall, Berra was acquired by the Avalanche in 2014. He’s played 34 games with the Avalanche over the past three seasons. Before coming to the NHL, Berra played six seasons in Switzerland’s National League A.