Colorado Avalanche goalie Reto Berra earned his first NHL shutout in the Thursday game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Now, some Avalanche fans think Berra chose the wrong time to start playing so well. After all, the Avalanche have been eliminated from playoff contention. The only thing they’re “playing” for now is a higher draft pick. Winning games does not behoove them.

I have made my thoughts known on what I think of playing for a higher draft pick — it’s hogwash. It leads to bad habits. The Avalanche have already played for draft picks — they have numbers one, two and three from previous years. (Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene) And they have the lack of focus that creeps into their play from such undisciplined play.

But I digress. The story of tonight is that Reto Berra, whom everyone considered the big failure for the Avalanche, earned his first NHL shutout.

This was not an easy shutout. Not that any of them are. However, Berra had to face 41 shots. He had to face players who believed they were fighting for their playoff lives. He had to play behind a D-corps that was already missing cornerstone defenseman Erik Johnson and lost shut down defenseman Brad Stuart midway through the second.

According to Altitude TV’s Julie Browman, head coach Patrick Roy praised Berra’s efforts:

Roy: I’m happy for Reto Berra. It’s a mix between working hard and better confidence. During practice he needs to be better than Varly . — Julie Browman (@JulieBrowman1) April 10, 2015

As far as the practice part goes, hockey lore states that part of the job description for backup goalies is that they have to stay late to work with shooters who want extra practice. That practice has apparently served Berra well.

Indeed center Matt Duchene — who got last night’s game winner in the shootout — of Berra in practice:

“He’s one of the best goalies I’ve ever shot against in a breakaway or a shootout situation. He owns me pretty bad in practice.”

During a post-game interview, Berra praised the whole team, saying they all played really well. He especially praised the penalty killing, which saw a lot of action. He also admitted that this had been a “tough year” but that he felt good and confident now.

Berra was named the first star of the game after he not only stopped all the regulation and overtime shots, but also stopped both shooters in the shootout. (Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene both scored for the Avalanche.)

Naturally, during his first-star interview, Berra stated, “I felt good today. I’m happy.”

We’re all happy, right, Avs Nation? A loss tonight wouldn’t have improved our draft spot by much — the Avs are finishing last in the Central Division and pretty low on the totem pole overall. However, more importantly, the Avs now have three goalies from which to choose. With his play in recent games, Reto Berra has shown he is a capable NHL goalie.