Remember when the Avalanche’s biggest question mark was goaltending? When the conventional wisdom was that if Peter Budaj lived up to the faith the organization had showed in him, Colorado could prove wrong those who had the Avalanche ticketed to miss the playoffs?
Well, here’s the scary thought for Colorado: Budaj has rallied after an awful start to the season, but the Avalanche as a team remains agonizingly inconsistent and puzzlingly unproductive offensively.
The 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center on Thursday was the Avs’ second defeat at the hands of the Flames in three nights and their fourth in four meetings between the Northwest Division rivals in the first six weeks of the season. The loss left Colorado solidly entrenched in last place in the Northwest Division.
Partially because the Flames let the air out of the puck, so to speak, after taking the lead, Calgary goalie Miikka Kiprusoff had to make only 18 saves to get his second shutout of the season. Budaj faced 33 shots and gave up only Daymond Langkow’s goal — which came on a rebound with Langkow unattended in front after Budaj made the save on defenseman Mark Giordano’s shot — at 10:16 of the second period.
Colorado also lost winger Marek Svatos, who suffered what coach Tony Granato said was an abdominal injury when taking a hit from Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf in the second period. Svatos underwent tests, but the team had no immediate word of the severity.
“It’s a tough injury for us right now, but hopefully it isn’t anything that’s going to keep him out for long,” Granato said.
The other trend: The Avs had 28 goals, including one shootout victory, in their first seven games. In the 11 since, Colorado has 17, with three of those coming for shootout wins.
“We’re not working hard enough in the tougher areas in front,” said Avs winger Ryan Smyth, who had a couple of the few good chances against Kip- rusoff. “We’re getting our chances throughout the game, but we’re fading away instead of maybe going at it. Whatever you want to call it, snakebit or whatever, you still have to earn it to get the offense going. . . .
“There’s no question (Budaj) is holding us in hockey games, and it’s our job to capitalize.”
Granato had no explanation for the Avalanche’s offensive slide. “I wish I could give you the right answers because I’d give it to our guys and we’d be producing more,” he said. “We have to stay with it, we have to find ways to score ugly goals. It’s never easy to score goals, but when you’re fighting like this, you have to find the ugly way to get them.”
The Avalanche has tightened up its overall approach since the high-scoring start, which at least initially coincided with Budaj’s struggles. “Every team will tell you the same thing, that you want to get better defensively and you always want to buckle down and limit the number of chances,” Granato said. “We are getting better in that area, but it shouldn’t take away that much from our offense.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
AvsRecap
Three stars
1. Dion Phaneuf.
Flames defenseman logged 26 minutes in front of Miikka Kipru-soff and knocked Marek Svatos out of the game with a hit.
2. Miikka Kiprusoff.
He has had tougher nights, but he earned the 18-save shutout.
3. Peter Budaj.
Avalanche goalie continued strong work of late.
What you might have missed
Young Chase Sakic was the star of the between-periods kids’ exhibitions. Yes, he’s related to somebody who wears a C.
Up next
At Los Angeles, Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
Terry Frei, The Denver Post
