TAMPA, Fla. — The Avalanche is 1-1-2 on the road trip that concludes against the Blues Monday night in St. Louis, and Colorado coach Patrick Roy isn’t complaining.
Colorado lost 2-1 at Washington, fell 3-2 in a shootout at Carolina, beat Florida 4-2 and then lost another 3-2 shootout decision to Tampa Bay on Saturday.
That’s four points in four games, and the upside is that they were interconference games, so the Avs didn’t lose ground to another competitor for a Western Conference playoff spot in the two shootout losses — or, for that matter, the pointless regulation loss at Washington.
“I’m very happy with the road trip,” Roy said Saturday night at Amalie Arena . “These were not easy games. … In Washington, we had a solid third period, and remember that (goalie) Calvin Pickard did a really good job against Carolina to allow us to get a point. A big win in Florida, and then (against Tampa Bay), I thought it was one of our better games on the road.”
Colorado is 19-17-10 and, after Saturday’s games, is only three points out of the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. Calgary and Los Angeles were tied for that position, with 51 points. And the Avalanche had four shootout losses and six overtime losses, giving it the second-highest total of one-point games in the league, tied with Florida and one fewer than the Kings’ 11. The Avs are 5-4 in shootouts despite losing both on this trip, but are 2-6 in games decided in overtime.
So there have been many missed opportunities for second points.
Monday’s game at St. Louis takes the Avalanche back to conference play, where the opponent getting a second point is lost ground. The Blues are 12 points ahead of the Avs, seemingly a lock to gain one of the Central Division’s three guaranteed spots. But that’s also a St. Louis team that collapsed down the stretch as the Avs ended up winning the division.
After not getting a point in the first three games of the trip, Nathan MacKinnon cranked it up against the Lightning and was the most noticeable player on the ice long before he got the tying goal with 6.8 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime and secure at least a point. He assisted on the Avs’ other goal, getting the puck back to Ryan O’Reilly on a give-and-go.
“When he’s skating like that, with the turns and going to the net, that’s what we want to see from him,” said Roy. “He was outstanding. That line was outstanding. (Gabriel) Landeskog played a hard and strong game as well, and same thing with O’Reilly.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
COLORADO AT ST. LOUIS
6 p.m. Monday, NBCSN; 950 AM
Spotlight on Kevin Shattenkirk: On a Blues team with seven 2014 Olympic forwards, Shattenkirk ranks second in scoring with 39 points. That is tied for first among NHL defensemen. Drafted by Colorado 14th overall in 2007, Shattenkirk leads St. Louis with 31 assists and is headed to this weekend’s All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, where he will play with or against the Avalanche’s Erik Johnson, the former Blues defenseman who was acquired in a 2011 trade for Shattenkirk and others. Shattenkirk, 25, and Johnson, 26, will forever be compared because of that big trade and their U.S. roots — Shattenkirk played for Boston University, John- son for Minnesota.
NOTEBOOK
Avalanche: This is the first game against the Blues since Colorado’s lethargic 16-shot, 3-0 loss Dec. 29 in St. Louis. … The Avs didn’t practice Sunday. They spent the day watching football and having a light workout at their St. Louis hotel. … Colorado is 1-1-2 on its five-game trip and hasn’t scored more than two goals in any of those games. … The Avs host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday before separating for the NHL’s all-star break, resuming play Jan. 27 at Nashville.
Blues: Goalie Brian Elliott backstopped Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Detroit that lowered his league-leading goals-against average to 1.90. His .929 save percentage ranks fourth. The leader is Calvin Pickard (.936) of the Avalanche. … Alex Pietrangelo has a six-game point streak and is at 199 career points, putting him within one of becoming just the sixth defenseman in Blues history with 200 career points. Members of that club include Al MacInnis (452 points), Chris Pronger (356) and Rob Ramage (296).
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
