Evolving game story is .
Two wins and eight points in the first 10 games of the season is not going to cut it for the Avalanche, which was in position to win Tuesday night because of goalie Semyon Varlamov, who had 49 saves before going 0-for-2 in the shootout. San Jose collects two of three points but the Avs — who gave up 23 first-period shots and another 18 in the second — extend their points streak to four games (1-0-3).
Difference between this season and last: the Avs aren’t winning close games. They are 0-3 in OT and 0-1 when it goes to the shootout.
Nothing has changed with Varlamov, however. Since starting 0-2 because the Avs couldn’t score a goal on Minnesota, Varlamov has not lost in regulation, going 1-0-4. Varlamov is definitely not part of the complex problem.
“We’re leaving him out to dry. It’s unacceptable on our part,” Avs left wing Jamie McGinn said. “He stood on his head — just like last year, except we pulled out (many) wins. This year we’re not doing that.”
Varlamov:
Save for a couple players — Varlamov, defenseman Jan Hejda and backup goalie Reto Berra — the Avs locker room was almost empty just minutes after it opened. The PR staff will bring back out any healthy player you request, and they did with McGinn, but these guys are clearly tired of saying the same stuff after almost every game. Not enough goal scoring and too many shots against.
“We’re leaving (Varly) out to dry and he’s battling every night. It’s amazing what he’s doing for us,” McGinn said.
I had some good video of Avs coach Patrick Roy in his postgame presser, but it failed to upload. Here’s part of what he said about the Avs’ four-game points streak (1-0-3): “We’re not happy the way we’re playing, there’s no doubt about it, but the good thing is we’ve picked up points, and to me this is positive … If we start playing a little bit better, and we start scoring goals and we play a little bit better in our end, cutting down on giveaways, we’re going to be right there.”
The Avs were lucky they weren’t blown out against the Sharks, who nearly blew it late in OT when Patrick Marleau — a Lady Byng type of guy — slashed the stick out of Erik Johnson’s hands in the neutral zone to give Colorado a 4-on-3 power play in the last 1:05 of OT.
Which brings me to this: if Marleau was assessed a two-minute penalty, and he only served 1:05, why is he allowed to score the game-winning shootout goal? Marleau beat Varlamov with the first shot, and Joe Pavelski also beat Varlamov. Alex Tanguay and Matt Duchene couldn’t get a puck past Antti Niemi.
McGinn, who played against his younger brother, Tye McGinn, wasn’t making excuses: “It’s just unacceptable to have that kind of start. It’s a big game and we got to start winning games.”
