The Avalanche cast remains largely the same.
After Colorado made two minor deals Tuesday in the final hours before the afternoon NHL trading deadline, shipping out only veteran winger Brad May, the Avs held on to beat lowly Columbus 3-2 on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
With the deadline past, the focus can turn exclusively to the daunting task of trying to close with a rush and avoid becoming the first Avalanche team to miss the playoffs.
Nobody was going to get excited over beating the Western Conference’s second-worst team, the Blue Jackets, or portray it as portentous of a miracle turnaround. But it did get the Avalanche back to within 10 points of idle Calgary, currently in the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, with 18 Colorado games remaining – and only six of them at home.
“The math is real tough,” Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said, adding, “The reality is that you just try to keep playing well and see how it plays out.”
Winger Andrew Brunette, who had the first Colorado goal against the Blue Jackets, said that if the Avs simply crunch the numbers “it kind of looks bleak. The way I kind of look at it is if you can get within six with 10 to go, that should be a goal of ours. Then you never know. That’s the way you have to look at it.”
The Avalanche, which got goals from Brunette, Paul Stastny and Mark Rycroft, is 30-29-5 after beating the Blue Jackets, but there were some nervous moments in the final minute, when Columbus’ Rick Nash scored twice to not only ruin Peter Budaj’s shutout bid but raise the possibility of another crushing late-game collapse. But the Avs survived.
“I don’t know if there’s something in the air,” said Stastny, who extended his point streak to 13 games. “We just let down the last five to 10 minutes of every game. Mentally it’s tough for us, shaking our confidence. But I think just getting the win will help us out a little bit.”
Defenseman Karlis Skrastins missed his second consecutive game after suffering a sprained knee at Los Angeles on Saturday, and the Avalanche expect him to be out seven to 10 days following the end of his ironman streak at 495 games.
It was only the third time in his NHL career that he has missed a game, and the first time he had been out of the lineup for back-to-back games.
Winger Scott Parker, reacquired from San Jose on Tuesday for a draft choice, wasn’t expected to arrive in Denver until late Tuesday night and is scheduled to practice with the Avalanche today. After practice, the Avs will head to Chicago, where they face the Blackhawks on Thursday in the first of five consecutive Colorado road games.
“He definitely gives us a nice presence of toughness and size,” Quenneville said of Parker. “He had a good experience in Colorado, and they enjoyed having him around. He was a good teammate. He was extremely, extremely excited about the opportunity to return here. He couldn’t hide his enthusiasm on the phone.”
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
Avalanche 3, Blue Jackets 2
Columbus 0 0 2 – 2
Colorado 1 1 1 – 3
First period – 1, Colorado, Brunette 24 (Liles, Hejduk), 12:41 (pp). Penalties – Chimera, Clm, minor-major-misconduct (instigator, fighting), 8:05; Finger, Col, major (fighting), 8:05; Hainsey, Clm (holding), 12:09; Klee, Col (holding), 17:19.
Second period – 2, Colorado, Stastny 22 (Hejduk, Finger), 17:53. Penalties – None.
Third period – 3, Colorado, Rycroft 5 (Guite), 17:51. 4, Columbus, Nash 18 (Hainsey, Vyborny), 18:04. 5, Columbus, Nash 19 (Eriksson, Vyborny), 19:31. Penalties – Klee, Col (hooking), 2:24; Stastny, Col (hooking), 12:00; Clark, Col (interference), 12:52.
Shots on goal – Columbus 9-3-11 – 23. Colorado 8-9-6 – 23.
Power-play opportunities – Columbus 0 of 4; Colorado 1 of 2.
Goalies – Columbus, Norrena 16-15-3 (23 shots-20 saves). Colorado, Budaj 19-15-4 (23-21).
Attendance – 17,127 (18,007). T – 2:16. Referees – Tom Kowal, Ian Walsh. Linesmen – Thor Nelson, Mark Wheler.
DENVER POST THREE STARS
1. Paul Stastny – Point streak at 13 games, longest in NHL for a rookie since Teemu Selanne’s 17-gamer 14 years ago.
2. Milan Hejduk – Two assists and now will be around until his no-trade clause is activated next season.
3. Kurt Sauer – Oft-scratched defenseman is playing – and playing decent hockey – of late. Did much of the penalty-killing work against Jackets.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
Columbus was 0-for-4 on the power play and didn’t score with a two-man advantage for 68 seconds in the third.
NEXT
At Chicago, 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
