If Joe Sakic’s snowblower accident had been the first injury to knock him out of the lineup, the Avalanche’s attitude going forward the next three months without him might be different.
But the Avs had already been without their captain for most of the past five weeks, and remain afloat in the Western Conference’s pool of contenders. Everyone wishes No. 19 was in the lineup, of course, but with players such as Paul Stastny to look toward in Sakic’s absence, things might not be so bleak after all.
Stastny has picked up his scoring pace, with eight points (two goals, six assists) and a plus-6 in his past five games.
The humble young center gets a little uncomfortable with talk that the Avs are now “his team.” On the other hand, he’s a player who recently got a five-year, $33 million contract extension. He knows the kind of expectations that come with such a deal.
“Every player has expectations and I know they’re on me too,” Stastny said. “But I just try to stay consistent and approach every game the same way. We’ve got a lot of leaders in here, and it’s not just me who (who has to do) everything. Everybody’s been chipping in lately offensively, and hopefully we can keep that going.”
Avs defenseman Adam Foote, who will return to the lineup tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks after being out since Nov. 22, has been through plenty of injury “plagues” before and seen his team survive.
“I think it all comes down to winning each period at a time. Every game is close, it seems now, where it’s just a couple little things that determine who wins each period,” Foote said. “We can’t look at it like (Sakic) is out three months and what are we going to do? We just have to battle hard each period and come away with enough for the win.”
Stastny, 22, has been encouraged by the play of Avs teammates around his age or younger. Rookie David Jones has been playing much better by going harder to the net and being rewarded with some goals. Wojtek Wolski has been unstoppable in shootouts (5-for-5) all season.
The two Cody Macs (Mc-Leod and McCormick) have put points on the board lately, and 2006 first-round draft pick Chris Stewart is coming off a game in which he recorded his first two career NHL points.
“I’m sure it’s been good for their confidence, and it obviously helps the team out when you get more balanced scoring,” Stastny said. “We need to try and keep it going. We know we’ve got some tough games coming up and a road trip.”
The Avs play up-and-coming Chicago tonight, followed by road games Monday against the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings and Tuesday against the surging Philadelphia Flyers.
“They’ll be tough games,” Foote said. “But there aren’t too many easy ones in this league anymore.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
Going without Joe
How the Avs have fared the past two seasons with and without Joe Sakic:
2008-09
With Sakic: 7-8-0
Without Sakic: 7-5-1
2007-08
With Sakic: 26-16-2
Without Sakic: 18-15-5
Chicago at Colorado
7 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM/KRCN 1060 AM
Spotlight on Joel Quenneville: Welcome back, Coach Q. Quenneville, who parted ways with the Avs last spring after three seasons at the helm, makes his first Denver appearance with his new team. Chicago has played well under Quenneville and comes into the game in second place in the Central Division.
Notebook
Avalanche: Right wing Marek Svatos will not play tonight because of back stiffness. Svatos is considered day to day and will accompany the Avs on their upcoming four-game road trip. He was injured in Tuesday’s game against Los Angeles. . . . With Adam Foote returning to the lineup, defenseman Daniel Tjarnqvist is the likely odd man out in the rotation, although coach Tony Granato was not available for comment Thursday and did not disclose his lineup plans. . . . The team recalled forward Philippe Dupuis from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League, and he will be available for tonight’s game.
Blackhawks: Chicago is coming off a 2-0 home shutout victory over Ottawa. Goalie Cristobal Huet got the victory with 23 saves. Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
