PITTSBURGH — Blake Comeau scored 16 goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, and the Avalanche expected similar production upon signing him as an unrestricted free agent July 1.
Comeau, however, has scored only once in 18 games for the Avs heading into Thursday night’s road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Comeau’s goal came shorthanded in Saturday’s 6-1 victory at Montreal. It was a load off his mind.
“Yeah, it was, for sure,” Comeau said of the goal that gave the Avs a 4-1 lead and hushed the Canadiens’ sellout crowd. “Having a slow start with a new team, you start to press and question things a little bit. It was frustration. One of the things I felt I could help out with the club was to bring some offensive help, along with other things. So it’s nice to get that first one, and now I can put it behind me and move onward and upward.”
The right-shooting Comeau has lately played left wing on Colorado’s second line, with center Carl Soderberg and Jarome Iginla. Comeau isn’t on the power play, but he’s a staple on the penalty kill. His role is to play ruggedly and chip in offensively but focus on playing solid defense.
He took Colorado’s first two penalties in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss at Toronto, and the Maple Leafs scored on both of them. Toronto went 4-of-5 on the power play.
Previously on the trip, Colorado was 3-0 and had outscored its opponents 13-3. Special teams were special, and goalie Reto Berra seemed invincible.
“It was a combination of many things,” Comeau said of the victories at Philadelphia, Boston and Montreal. “We were getting some big, timely saves from Reto, and we’ve had some timely scoring from guys. I feel like we have four lines that can roll, which really helps. And special teams were huge.”
The Avs hope to return to that formula at Pittsburgh.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers
COLORADO AT PITTSBURGH 5 p.m. Thursday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Evgeni Malkin:
After two recent Penguins losses, including a 4-0 setback at New Jersey on Saturday, Pittsburgh’s forward from Russia came out of a players-only meeting and said, “Stop, look in the mirror and start working.” He did just that Tuesday in a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Malkin scored twice and assisted on Pittsburgh’s two other goals. Malkin, 29, is making a team-high $9.5 million and is under contract through the 2019-20 season.
NOTEBOOK
Avalanche:
Captain Gabe Landeskog will return from a two-game suspension for head contact on Boston’s Brad Marchand. Landeskog will rejoin the Nathan MacKinnon-centered line with Matt Duchene. … The Avs practiced in Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Goalie Semyon Varlamov was a full participant, and center John Mitchell skated before the rest of the team. Varlamov is on injured reserve with a groin injury, and Mitchell has missed five of the past seven games with a troubling oblique injury. Neither is likely to play Thursday. … Duchene is on a four-game points streak (four goals, nine points). … Coach Patrick Roy will choose between Reto Berra and Calvin Pickard for his starting goalie. Pickard is bound to return to the American Hockey League’s San Antonio Rampage when Varlamov is activated.
Penguins:
Defenseman Olli Maatta is out after being checked into an open door against the boards against Minnesota. Maatta doesn’t have serious internal injuries, but he could miss more than a week. … Sidney Crosby still isn’t producing offensively on a regular basis. He is pointless in four of his past five games (minus-6 rating). He is coming off his weakest full season (84 points in 77 games) and is on pace to average less than a point per game for the first time in his career. Crosby’s longtime linemate Chris Kunitz (two points in 18 games) is off to an even worse start. … Former University of Denver forward Beau Bennett scored a power-play goal Thursday. He has missed five games because of injury.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
