It was 11:30 a.m. Thursday, when Avalanche players usually filter off the practice ice for the day. Sure enough, players started heading for the dressing room, but it wasn’t long before they came back out.
One hour of practice wasn’t sufficient for Avs coach Joel Quenneville; after a resurfacing of the ice by the Zamboni, his players trudged back out for nearly another hour’s worth of drills, capped off at the end by a “bag skate” – so named for the bags you see in the pouches in airline seats in case of illness.
The grueling practice can safely be considered punishment from Quenneville for what he feels has been insufficient effort by his team of late. The Avs’ 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night angered Quenneville, and his displeasure appears to have sunk in.
Before the practice, the Avalanche held a players-only meeting in which one thing more than any other was stressed: “We talked about battling more,” Avs defenseman John-Michael Liles said. “It’s about playing a full 60 minutes. Maybe it’s being a little bit too complacent, and trying to hold onto the lead rather than just playing our game. When we play our game, we develop chances. And when we step back from that, I think it allows the other team to get chances. And when we do that, we don’t get as many.”
The Avs have a winning record (7-6-2), but have lost to under-.500 teams such as the Kings, St. Louis, Washington and Chicago.
The Avs had the second most goals in the Western Conference entering Thursday (51), but had allowed 49.
Now come several tough games on the schedule, starting in Nashville on Saturday.
Quenneville put his team through a lengthy period of defensive zone coverage drills, and said more responsible play without the puck is a must if the Avs are to improve.
“We’ve got to get that awareness defensively, and really place a premium on it,” Quenneville said. “That’s going to win hockey games for you. It’s a concentration and a focus, knowing that there is plenty of offense around our lineup.”
The Avs of 2006-07 have seemed to relax too much when they get a lead, not doing the things they did to get the lead. The Avs also have gotten off to slow starts the last four games.
“I haven’t been happy with our last four starts,” Quenneville said. “They haven’t been good enough for me. It’s a trend that has kind of stuck out, and has led to sporadic play in all four games.”
Quenneville juggled his lines at practice, putting Milan Hejduk back on the first line with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette. Ian Laperriere has replaced Hejduk on a line with rookies Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski.
Quenneville expressed confidence in goalie Jose Theodore, saying his teammates were as much to blame for Tuesday’s loss as he was. He indicated Theodore will start Saturday against the Predators.
Avalanche left wing Antti Laaksonen, who has played 14 games without a point and was not on the first penalty-killing unit at practice, said he must do more to help the team.
“I’d like to get points, but it’s not coming my way,” Laaksonen said. “I’ve got to work on defense and try to get chances that way. Defensively lately, we haven’t been doing the right things. We’ve got a lot of offense here, but we’ve got to take care of our own end better.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
