Edmonton, Alberta – Toward the end of practice Monday at Rexall Place, Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville sectioned off the ice, placed a single goal between the faceoff circles and ordered his players to square off in a succession of one-on-one battles.
In gladiatorial fashion, players fought, one to get the puck into the net and one to keep it out. Afterward, Quenneville gave a thumbs up, saying that kind of determination will be needed for the Avs to succeed. It wasn’t there Sunday night, when a game that appeared winnable with a better effort turned into a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
“It was a great opportunity to move up,” Quenneville said. “It was an important game, and I think we just went along with the pace of the game that existed, instead of pushing it and forcing it.”
One thing Quenneville won’t tolerate from his players is meekness. If his team loses, it better go down fighting. Players seemed to get the message Monday.
“I think we’ve done some better things of late. We’re just not quite at the stage yet in our game that we need to be at,” winger Andrew Brunette said. “I think we let a big one slip away (in Chicago). We’ve got to pound it into our heads every day that we’ve got to do the right things for the whole game.”
With just two points separating first and last place in the Northwest Division entering today’s games, the Avs know they can’t play like they did in Chicago tonight against the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers.
“It’s a four-point game,” Avs captain Joe Sakic said. “We’ve had some success against them lately (two consecutive wins), but we know they’re going to be ready for us. We have to be at our best if we want to win, and we know we have to come out better than we did (Sunday).”
The Avs scored 11 goals in the two wins over the Oilers, including a 7-3 road victory Nov. 30. But the Oilers have been off since losing 4-1 to the Avs on Friday night in Denver. Brunette is expecting a hungry Edmonton team tonight.
“We have to be ready for their best effort,” Brunette said. “If we’re not ready, we’ll be in trouble.”
Svatos out
The Avs will be without winger Marek Svatos tonight, and possibly the rest of the week.
Svatos is bothered by a slight groin problem. He played Sunday in Chicago, but at less than his desired effectiveness, and feels he needs to give it enough rest to make it 100 percent.
“You don’t want to keep making it worse,” he said.
Svatos missed Friday’s game against Edmonton with the same problem.
The Avs expect to get second-year center Brad Richardson back tonight. He missed Sunday’s game with a sore elbow.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
