P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens scores his second goal of the game on Calvin Pickard of the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre on October 18, 2014 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Richard Wolowicz, Getty Images)
MONTREAL — Avalanche loses 3-2 at Montreal. Best offensive game (from a chance perspective) of the season for the Avs, but they couldn’t bury enough and goalie Carey Price was very good. I thought Calvin Pickard, 22, was just as good for the Avs. The in the disappointed locker room. Read more about Duchene’s frustrations — and optimism that things will get better — in Monday’s paper and online.
way too hard on yourself When the whole team gels, at the same time, you guys will be unstoppable!
— Maeline (@msabarns)
Patrick Roy after his team fell to 1-4-1:
What to do about Colorado’s inefficient defense/breakout? This is not just a D-man problem. The stat sheet against Montreal looks a lot like the one against Ottawa on Thursday. The Avs had 10 giveaways against the Canadians (who had seven) and Montreal won the takeaway battle 11-3. Obviously, some of those numbers overlap, but the point is, Colorado isn’t moving out of its zone with much consistency and the transition game is being won by the opponents.
The Avs blew another 1-0 lead, which they also had against Toronto on Tuesday and Ottawa on Thursday. Colorado ultimately led 2-1 against the Maple Leafs and 3-1 against the Senators. Why stick with what’s not working, from a D-man’s perspective? I’m surprised as anybody Roy didn’t play Ryan Wilson or Zach Redmond, or both as a paring, after the collapse in Ottawa, but changes are bound to come — it’s why Roy prefers to carry eight D, one more than most teams.
