Before the season, Paul Stastny spoke of recommitment, of renewed desire, of wanting to put a metaphorical puck in the mouths of critics who wondered if he was worth the money.
In the first half the season, the puck not only wasn’t in the mouths of the critics, it wasn’t in the net too often.
The critics are crickets now. Stastny enters tonight’s Avalanche game with the Anaheim Ducks as one of the NHL’s hottest players, with a nine-game point streak and five goals in his last four games. With 16 points in the nine games, Stastny’s point total has risen from 54 to 70, the same number of games he has played.
It might have taken him a bit longer to get in a groove, and maybe it’s no coincidence he got there right after winning a silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics. While some worried that the Olympic experience would leave the Avs’ No. 1 center feeling drained for the stretch run, it seems to have had the opposite effect.
“I think it was a growing experience. Some guys might think you get tired, but playing in the Olympics, you’re so excited that I think it carries through,” Stastny said. “Playing against the best players in the world, and the speed of the play, it was a step up from the normal competition. I think it just makes anyone better who got to go through it.”
Stastny, 24, went through his most trying season in 2008-09, when injuries limited him to 45 games. He posted 11 goals, 36 points and the only minus season (minus-9) of his, to that point, three-year career. Starting the first year of a five-year, $33 million contract, Stastny came to training camp eager to prove the signing was justified. But he went without a point in eight of his first 16 games, and was pointless and a minus-2 in the final two games before the Olympic break. While he was still getting points and the Avs were winning more often than not, there was an unspoken feeling that Stastny’s play had been only mediocre — for his talents. Not anymore.
“He’s showing his leadership right now, coming through for us as the games have gotten bigger,” captain Adam Foote said. “I think the bottom line with Paulie is he works hard and never gets too high or low with things. In that respect, he’s a lot like Joe (Sakic) was for us: just a guy who leads by example, on and off the ice.”
Despite the loss in overtime of the gold medal game, the Olympics remain a glowing memory for Stastny. At the Olympic Village, he was roommates with Detroit’s Brian Rafalski and St. Louis’ Erik Johnson, and also got to hang out with his family much of the time, including his Hockey Hall of Fame father, Peter.
“It was tough to lose, and it’s still tough. You don’t win the silver — you lose the gold,” Stastny said. “But a lot of people have come up to me and said that was the best hockey game they’ve ever seen, and to be part of it is pretty special. I’ll probably look back more on it some day. Right now, I haven’t really had that chance.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360, adater@denverpost.com or
Colorado at Anaheim
6 p.m. tonight, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on Bobby Ryan: The native of Cherry Hill, N.J., near Philadelphia, played for the U.S. Olympic team in February and has passed the 30-goal benchmark for the second straight season. Ryan, the second overall choice in the 2005 draft, pulled it off last season despite playing 14 games in the minors.
Ducks: Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller has gotten 16 consecutive starts, and two of his backups — Jean-Sebastien Giguere, then Vesa Toskala — have been traded during that period. Hiller’s backup now is Curtis McElhinney, obtained from Calgary for Toskala. . . . Hiller was yanked, though, early in the second period against the Islanders on Friday after allowing three goals on 17 shots, and McElhinney had 13 saves and gave up one goal the rest of the way in a 5-4 overtime victory. . . . This is the last of a seven-game homestand for the Ducks. . . . Defenseman James Wisniewski will be serving the second game in his eight-game suspension for his hit on Chicago’s Brent Seabrook on Wednesday. . . . The Ducks were seven points out of the final playoff spot going into Saturday’s games.
Avalanche notes: Craig Anderson will start in goal for Colorado. . . . Defenseman Ryan Wilson (concussion) and center Stephane Yelle (bruised leg) did make the trip and will not play tonight or Monday. . . . The Avs beat Anaheim 4-3 on March 3 at the Honda Center. Terry Frei and Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
