ST. LOUIS — Maybe this is what Avalanche fans were looking for. Patrick Roy calls his top guys out after a lackluster 3-0 loss against the Blues.
In my buzzer-running game story before heading to the locker room, I focused on the horrendous second-period start (Paul Stastny-assisted goals at 22 seconds and 4:30), plus the bad third period in which Colorado allowed two breakaways and Vladimir Tarasenko’s goal off an unsightly turnover. After the first period, the Avs were extremely leaky defensively. But the . Thirty-somethings Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla have three goals apiece in their last 10 games. But it’s primarily the younger guys that aren’t getting it done.
Gabe Landeskog is goalless in his last 10 games (same with Max Talbot and Daniel Briere). Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon have one goal each in that span; Ryan O’Reilly two. Let’s give third-line center John Mitchell a pass because he’s chipped in two goals before and after missing 10 of 11 games because of injury. Mitchell has been good.
Besides the 5-1 and 5-0 wins at Buffalo and against St. Louis recently — defenseman Erik Johnson and Mitchell led the offense in those — the Avs has scored just five goals in five other games since Dec. 13.
Judging from the blank postgame stares, the inconsistency is maddening to these guys.
“It’s frustrating for us all,” Iginla told me. “We know we battled hard to get to (13-14-8), wanted to get (even) and now we put ourselves back in a hole again. We got to find that consistent part, and we did — we thought we were getting there, as far as moving control, moving it, that confidence and creativity, and finding that balance. Unfortunately, this game was a step back.”
The Avs’ collapse in this one came quickly after a 0-0 first period. Two defensive turnovers — it looked like goalie Semyon Varlamov and his defensemen didn’t communicate out of the second-period gate — led to St. Louis goals with the first five minutes of the frame.
“We came in the first and did all the things — besides score a goal — in playing a very good road period,” Iginla said. “The scored on the first shift of the second and put us back on our heels. It was a pretty tight game and all of a sudden they’re up two, have all the momentum, and they ran with it. We didn’t get it back.”
We have Philly in Denver on Wednesday, followed by Edmonton on Friday at the Pepsi Center.
