NEWARK, N.J. — Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles has a point in each of the first four games this season and six overall. But he’s not about to get too satisfied, not after a season in which he found himself in coach Joe Sacco’s doghouse at times.
But there’s no doubt Liles is off to a happy start. He added an assist in Friday’s 3-2 Avs win over the New Jersey Devils, dishing off the puck to Chris Stewart on an odd-man rush that resulted in Stewart’s big slap shot past Martin Brodeur.
“Toward the end of last year, I think I figured out a lot of what Coach wanted me to do out there,” Liles said. “That was my main focus all summer, to try to continue to build on that.”
Liles is among league leaders with a plus-5 for the season. As a lead point man on the power play, he knows that area of the game must still improve, however.
“Our break-ins to the offensive zone have left a lot to be desired,” he said. “It’s something we’ve got to continue to work on.”
Footnotes.
Jonas Holos and Kevin Porter were the healthy scratches for the Avs. . . . Matt Duchene’s first-period assist extended his point streak to four games. . . . Avs winger TJ Galiardi missed a couple of shifts after being hit into the boards face-first on a penalized hit from New Jersey’s Colin White. But Galiardi returned for the third period and said he was fine after the game. . . . Avs winger Cody McLeod was given a major boarding penalty and game-misconduct on the shift after scoring Colorado’s first goal of the game. Devils defenseman Matt Taormina appeared to be hurt in the head after the hit, and referees are under stricter guidelines now to give major penalties on hits to that area.
