
Without Peter Forsberg, the Avalanche would struggle to score goals. For the Avs to be successful, they would have to win with great defense and goaltending.
Those were the preseason predictions for the Avs by the so-called hockey experts. Eleven games into the season, however, only one NHL team has more goals than Colorado’s 49. Detroit has 51.
The Avalanche’s average of 4.45 goals per game is the highest through the first 11 games since the team moved to Denver in 1995. The question is, can this kind of production last? Or is it a fluke?
“I mean, you probably won’t get four or five goals every single night,” Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said. “But there’s a lot of depth on this club. We like our four lines. Every one of them can put the puck in the net.”
It isn’t necessarily the four forward lines that are most responsible for the record offensive start, however. In fact, the team’s leading scorer is defenseman John-Michael Liles, who has 14 points. Two other defensemen – Rob Blake and Patrice Brisebois – are among the team’s top 10 in scoring.
With the NHL’s rule changes, speedy, puck-carrying defensemen such as Liles are fast becoming coveted.
“The small defenseman who can skate can play in the new league,” former NHL coach Scotty Bowman said. “The big defenseman who’s a little slower is having a harder time. In the old NHL, they could get by with obstruction tactics.”
Liles, 24, was drafted 159th overall by the Avalanche in 2000. The first-team NHL all-rookie selection in 2003-04 has fully emerged as a threat in the no-red line era. Having no red line has allowed Liles to take off up the ice for long passes that have resulted in several odd-man rushes for Colorado.
“I don’t know that it’s necessarily surprising we’re scoring this many goals,” said Liles, whose 14 points trail only Bryan McCabe and Lubomir Visnovsky (15) in NHL scoring by defensemen. “We have a lot of tremendous players on this team.
“Our third- and fourth-line guys can put the puck in the net. And I think we’ve got a good chemistry on this team. I think (Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix) did a great job of getting personnel for these new rules. Guys that can skate and move the puck, and maybe play in a little quicker game.”
In 2003-04, the Avs had the lowest-scoring third and fourth lines in the league. Fourth-liner Jim Cummins scored one goal in 55 games, Cody McCormick two in 44 games, Peter Worrell three in 49 games and Riku Hahl zero in 28. None of those four remains with the team.
Already this season, third- and fourth-liners such as Andrew Brunette, Antti Laaksonen and Ian Laperriere have put more points on the board than the aforementioned all of 2003-04.
Avalanche scoring
Colorado is off to its highest-scoring start through 11 games since moving to Denver in 1995, with 49 goals. Following are the season-by-season totals after 11 games:
Season | Goals
1995-96: 37
1996-97: 43
1998-99: 26
1999-2000: 26
2000-01: 35
2001-02: 30
2002-03: 31
2003-04: 37
2004-05: season canceled
2005-06: 49
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.



