SUNRISE, Fla. — So … how does the Avalanche cut down on shots against, whether Thursday night against the Florida Panthers or anyone else?
That was one of the questions posed to the Avs Thursday morning. The other concerned the Avalanche’s latest moves — sending center Ben Street to Lake Erie, recalling winger Dennis Everberg from the Monsters and saying that he would play against the Panthers, and disclosing that veteran center Marc-Andre Cliche would be a healthy scratch.
Street played against Carolina on Tuesday night after being unavailable since Nov. 25 because of a hand injury.
“I had a good talk with him this morning,” said Avs coach Patrick Roy. “It’s been months since he played, and I thought it would be good for him to go and play, and we’ll re-evaluate after that. Plus, I like the size and the physicality in the game of Dennis.”
Roy said Everberg would be on a line with Borna Rendulic and John Mitchell against Florida.
Cliche has been a healthy scratch only once previously this season, while also missing five games with an oblique injury.
“We’re going to have an extra forward and I think it’s going to creat some competition,” Roy said. “(Thursday night), it’s going to be him, the next game it could be (Daniel) Briere, it could be (Max) Talbot, we’ll make a decision. Let’s see how our guys play (Thursday) and then we’ll make decisions. I think it’s healthy for our team in that it creates competition.”
Moving on, how about the shots issue?
Colorado allowed 46 to the lowly Hurricanes on Tuesday, and it was part of a trend with Semyon Varlamov or Calvin Pickard in the net.
“First of all, we need to cut down on giveaways,” Roy said. “That’s something we did in the second period against Washington, where we gave 20 shots, and it’s what we did when we gave 20 shots against Carolina last game.
“We talk about it. Sometimes our gap could be better. But it’s not just about the D. The D needs to feel that the forwards are back-checking and tracking hard, and I think that will bring some confidence to the entire team. Obviously, we’re giving some easy shots from the outside and teams now in the league; they like to take those shots and they don’t pass on it. It brings the number of shots against higher, as well.”
Veteran defenseman Brad Stuart has been paired with Nick Holden.
“We’ve got to do a little bit better job of taking the middle away,” Stuart said. “We’ll give ’em shots from the outside all day when they want to take those. But we’re giving up some good, quality chances and I think that’s from giving up the middle too easily. We need to focus on taking that away better.”
Stuart added: “We’ve got five guys out there. They’ve got five guys out there. The shots can come from anyone. It’s a team thing. Your wingers have to play just as big of a role in it as your defensmen, and same with your centermen. It’s not any one position that you can point at.”
Tyson Barrie, the Avalanche’s most offensive-minded defenseman, has been paired with Nate Guenin.
“We have some things we have to sort out in the D zone,” Barrie said. “It’s closing guys down more on the rush. … Varly and ‘Picks’ both seem to kind of relish the challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Varly not play his best when he’s getting that many shots.”
Barrie also discussed the five-man unit responsbilities.
“That’s a team thing, that’s all five guys on the ice,” he said. “We have to tighten it up in the D zone. When the other team gets rolling and gets some momentum too, they gets lots of shots and we have to find a way to flip that and fire more their way.”
Jan Hejda is in the top pairing with Erik Johnson, most often matched against the other team’s top line.
“Definitely we have to do better,” Hejda said. “This is not something we are trying to do. So if you know how to fix it, let me know. We’re definitely trying to block shots and all that stuff, and at least I feel like a good amount of these shots are from the outside from the board and easy shots for a goalie. Hopefully we are helping them a little bit.
“We’re definitely talking about trying to have better positions against the players so they cannot shoot that much, but I feel this is not something we can fix overnight. We’re trying and we’re trying to get better.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
