Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog skates away after the New York Rangers’ Derek Stepan scores in the second period Friday in Denver. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)
It’s a bad news-bad news situation for the Avalanche. And already, in just the first week of November, the Avs are having to “fight for our lives every day,” Matt Duchene said Friday.
First, the bad news: The , scoring twice within 21 seconds to top the Avs at the Pepsi Center.
Nathan MacKinnon scored in the first period on an excellent solo effort from the left corner to weasel one by Henrik Lundqvist. But the Avs wilted after that.
Problems were plenty. But one thing keeps popping up for the Avs. They lead the NHL in blocked shots, which speaks to their willingness to work. The effort is there. But to block a shot, you have to be in position to do so, and too often the Avs sit back. It’s cynical hockey. There’s nothing positive about it. While they Avs block shots, they aren’t keeping other teams from shooting and they aren’t creating their own shots.
“We worked hard,” Matt Duchene said of the Avs’ loss to the Rangers. “We’re doing a lot of good things. But we’re not winning.”
Patrick Roy said nearly the same thing. “We just don’t have confidence around the net. But I see the effort. The guys work hard.”
Now for the bad news:
The Avs, at 4-9-1 and in last place in the Central Division, are in a hard way. After a home-and-away on back-to-back nights Thursday and Friday (both losses), the Avs travel for 14 of their next 18 games. They start a wicked, seven-game road trip to the East Coast on Tuesday against the Flyers.
“It’s tough right now,” Duchene said. “We have to go over .500 on that road trip, there’s no doubt about that. We almost have to fight for our lives every day right now. As funny as it sounds so early in the season, it’s the truth.”
