The game stopped in the first period, and Adam Foote was a member of the Avalanche again.
The Avs presented a video tribute to its former longtime defenseman Thursday night, and on the bench of his new team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Foote noticed.
“I thought it was classy of the (Avalanche) to do that,” said Foote, who played nearly 25 minutes for Columbus in a 1-0 loss to the Avs at the Pepsi Center. “I had a lot of great memories here, and we were fortunate to have some good hockey teams here. It was nice to see the fans; I had a good relationship with the fans here.”
Barring a miracle in Columbus, Foote will not participate in the playoffs this season for the first time since 1993-94 in Quebec. A slow start doomed Columbus, which has played better in the second half.
“We just got off to such a tough start,” Foote said. “We had a lot of injuries, and just didn’t win many games. But the guys in this locker room like each other, and I think we still have some good days ahead of us as a team.”
Wolski on fire
Avalanche prospect Wojtek Wolski was named the Ontario Hockey League’s top player for the third straight month after leading the league with 11 goals and 17 assists in February. He recorded multiple points in all but one game, including a four-point night for the Brampton Battalion against the Sudbury Wolves on Feb. 19 and a five-point game against the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors on Feb. 23.
Wolski is Brampton’s all-time leading scorer and is sixth in the OHL scoring race with 36 goals and 62 assists in 47 games.
Footnotes
Left wing Brad May took a shot off his leg in the second period and needed help to the dressing room, but returned for the third period. … Colorado’s 43 goals and 156 points from defensemen are the most in the NHL. Detroit has 40 goals and 153 points. … With the retirement of Mario Lemieux, Joe Sakic is second among active leading NHL scorers, with 1,461 points. Steve Yzerman of Detroit has 1,737. … Marek Svatos needs one point to tie the Avalanche record for most points in a season by a rookie (51).
