BOSTON — With the return to the Avalanche lineup Monday of right wing David Jones, somebody had to sit. But it came as a mild surprise when Chris Stewart didn’t dress against Boston.
Coach Joe Sacco made Stewart a healthy scratch in Colorado’s 4-3 victory, saying his game needs improvement.
“I think with Chris, right now he’s not where he needs to be with his game,” Sacco said. “We’re OK; we’ll work with him. He’s a young player, and he kind of needs to find his niche again on our team. He’ll be fine. We’ll get him back in the lineup soon.”
Stewart had no goals with two shots on goal, one assist and was plus-2 in the four games he had played this season.
T.J. Hensick was the other healthy scratch as a forward for the Avs.
Footnotes.
With veteran defenseman Ruslan Salei (back) going on the injured list, the Avs recalled rookie Ryan Wilson from Lake Erie (AHL). He did not play against Boston. . . . With an assist in the first period, Avs defenseman Kyle Quincey extended his scoring streak to five games. . . . Bruins coach Claude Julien was unhappy with his team’s lapses in fundamentals and said his players have to “get more into the present — not the past or the future.” . . . Avs defender Scott Hannan had one goal in 81 games last season, but got his first Monday. Hannan had an open net after Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask allowed a weak-side rebound to Jones’ big slap shot from the right side. . . . Rookie Matt Duchene got his second point of the season, but he lost 5-of-7 faceoffs and was a minus-1.
