One of the goal nets at the Avalanche’s practice facility Wednesday needed repairs. Just below the crossbar, the netting had been ripped apart by vulcanized rubber.
Apparently, too many pucks had landed in the very spot most shooters aim at, which fashionably explains Colorado’s early knack for burying top-shelf bids.
The Avs, who are on a three-game winning streak after beginning the season 0-3, have scored 24 goals, the most in the NHL entering Wednesday’s games.
“We have a lot of skill, a lot of speed, and a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net,” captain Joe Sakic said.
Continuing Colorado’s four-goal offensive average won’t be easy tonight against Edmonton or Saturday against Buffalo, both at the Pepsi Center. The Oilers, allowing 2.25 goals per game, and the Sabres (1.67) are two of the league’s stingiest teams.
The Avs would prefer to win those games 2-0 or 3-1, but it’s nice to know the team can compete in games that come unglued for goalies Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft.
“We don’t want to have to score four goals every night to win. It’s more important that we play better defensively and worry about that side of things,” Avs coach Tony Granato said. “But the goal-scoring thing, I think we have a team that can score, score in different ways.”
Colorado’s top line has been centered by third-year star Paul Stastny, who plays with Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth. Stastny has a team-high 10 points and Hejduk a team-high six goals, and Smyth has chipped in four goals.
The power play is up to a respectable 21.6 percent, 10th-highest in the league, and 12 players have multiple points.
“We have the one line that’s been very consistent all the way through, but our power play and all our lines are capable of contributing,” Granato said.
If defense wins championship, the Avs need work before that third Stanley Cup banner will be raised. Sakic used the “live by the sword, die by the sword” cliche to explain where the Avs need to go.
“We’re scoring some goals right now, and it’s good to play an up-tempo style when you have a lot of speed,” Sakic said. “The key for us is to make sure we’re skating back, working underneath and using turnovers as a source to getting opportunities at the other end.
“Over the course of the year, you have ups and downs. You’re going to have games where nothing is going in. But if we do the right things, we should be successful.”
Besides timely scoring and a key save or two from Budaj and Raycroft, the Avs don’t see a major difference in how they played during their three-game losing skid and three-game winning streak.
“I’m not going to say we played better than the last three,” Granato said, “but we’ve certainly were able to find ways to win. When we were 0-3, I thought we were playing well in a lot of areas.”
Said Sakic: “It was just a matter of time of putting wins together. We weren’t going to play the way we did the first three games and keep losing. We’re being rewarded right now.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
EDMONTON at COLORADO: 7:30 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
SPOTLIGHT ON
Dustin Penner: He’s the prototype power forward. As a full-time NHL player, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound former Anaheim Duck never has missed a game, playing in all 82 in his rookie season in Anaheim (2006-07) and another 82 last year with the Oilers. He also doesn’t miss scoring chances, having tallied 52 goals the past two seasons. Heading into Wednesday’s game at Chicago, Penner, 26, had two goals in four games.
NOTEBOOK
Oilers: Their 3-0 loss Wednesday at Chicago kept them from going 5-0 and matching the club’s best start since 1985-86. . . . Wednesday started a 11-game stretch when Edmonton is on the road for 10 games. . . . Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray and forward Sam Gagner missed the previous game (Saturday against Calgary) with injuries. . . . Edmonton was second in the NHL in power play (29.4 percent) entering Wednesday.
Avalanche: Peter Budaj (1-3) will start in goal. . . . The Avs’ penalty killing remains worst in the league, at 70.4 percent. They have allowed eight goals in 27 short-handed situations. . . . Colorado, Edmonton and the Phoenix Coyotes are the only teams that haven’t gone into overtime this season.
