Joe Sakic, Avalanche captain and resident sage, knows what a truly dismal start to a season is like. His second season in the NHL, 1989-90, the Quebec Nordiques had a 4-12-1 record after the first 17 games. The next season, the Nordiques were 3-11-3, and the season after that, 3-13-1.
The Avs stand 7-8-2 after the first 17 games – a panic-button record around Denver. But while much of Avs country dined on fingernails Tuesday, Sakic was his usual self around the dressing room: relaxed, jocular and unruffled.
That is not to say Sakic was happy. Not about Colorado’s losing record and certainly not about Monday’s 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, a game Avs coach Joel Quenneville called his team’s worst of the season and one in which veteran Ian Laperriere said the Avs didn’t compete.
Win or lose, Sakic promised the Avalanche will not suffer from a lack of effort tonight against the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center.
“We have to be a lot better, and we will be,” Sakic said. “There’s no excuse for (Monday). We had a bad game, and we have to be ready to play against San Jose.”
Even with the Avs, Sakic has seen his share of bleak moments. The 1998-99 Avs were under .500 at the midway point (18-19-4). The 1999-2000 edition was 9-11-3 after a 7-0 loss at Phoenix, and the 2001-02 Avs were 7-10-1 after a shutout loss to Calgary.
In all three seasons, the Avs advanced to the seventh game of the Western Conference finals. So forgive Sakic if he isn’t panicking yet about the Avs’ current plight.
“When you’re in one of those (slumps), it’s frustrating,” Sakic said. “Nobody likes to go through the times when they’re not going that well and you’re fighting the puck. For us, we’ve got to get back to the basics, work hard and find a way to win a hockey game and get that confidence back. And we’re going to have our highs again.”
Quenneville has tried several traditional coaching techniques to get his team out of the doldrums, including shaking up the lineup and some tough practices. He juggled his lines a bit again Tuesday, moving rookie Wojtek Wolski off the second line to the fourth.
Wolski might have been one of the players Quenneville was talking about when he criticized his team’s overall effort Monday. Wolski got off to a good scoring start and remains probably the organization’s best offensive prospect. But some have criticized him for being too much of a perimeter player who isn’t getting his nose dirty enough in front of the net. Wolski has yet to commit a penalty this season in 17 games.
“He’s a big guy. I think that he could be more tenacious in the puck area,” Quenneville said. “He’s a young kid that’s good with the puck and got some speed off the attack. But protecting (the puck) and going in front of the net, that should complement his game. I don’t think (penalty minutes) is a way to measure it, but certainly maybe a little bit more body positioning and retrievals of pucks is probably the best measuring stick for his skill.”
Quenneville juggled his lines before Saturday’s game in Nashville, one game after his team scored five goals in a loss to the Kings. Since then, the Avs have responded with one goal, coming against the Oilers.
“We did what we wanted to do – correct goals against and chances against,” Quenneville said. “The last couple games, we haven’t scored. We liked how we played in Nashville, but didn’t get the necessary results. The last two games, the power play has been non-productive. If it had been clicking, we definitely might have had different results. You play harder, and a lot of those things are alleviated.”
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
