GLENDALE, Ariz. — Semyon Varlamov will start in goal for the Avalanche on Thursday night against Arizona, but backup Reto Berra has been told he might start Friday at Anaheim. Berra’s previous start was Nov. 25 at Arizona and he has been used in relief just five times since.

“I’ll make a decision after the game,” Avs coach Patrick Roy said after Thursday’s morning skate at the Gila River Arena. “It depends on the result of the game, how many shots we give up. There’s a lot of factors. We’ll make a decision after the game but I already mentioned to Reto that he should be ready to play and we’ll see how it goes.”

Berra has a 3.42 goals-against average (78th in the league) and .890 save percentage (70th). Roy said 22-year-old Calvin Pickard, who has often played ahead of Berra this season when Varlamov has been injured, will not be called up from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.

Roy has said for the past week or so that he wants to give Berra another chance.

Colorado, which has not played since Saturday’s 3-2 win at home against Calgary, enters its third and final game against the Coyotes seven points out of the playoffs with 13 games to go. The Avs (75 points) have a game in hand over San Jose (76), Calgary (81) and Winnipeg (82), which holds the final wild-card berth.

The Avs’ only scratch against Arizona will be rookie center Joey Hishon, who has a bothersome elbow injury. Hishon has played in just two of five games since being called up from Lake Erie.

“Not strong enough on faceoffs,” Roy said of Hishon, the Avs’ 2010 first-round draft pick. “Maybe tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. He’s a center. If he can’t do faceoffs, that’s not good for us.”

Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikechambers