Since scoring six goals in its season opener, the Avalanche has been inept offensively, with just 21 goals in 13 games, a stretch that includes four shutout losses, including a 2-0 decision to Boston on Sunday. The Avs are last in the NHL in goals scored (27).
For a team with so many lottery draft picks and other first-round selections, the offensive ineptitude has become embarrassing.
“We got to dig deeper and really just play more desperate,” Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said Monday. “Every season you have one of these stretches when you have a tough time as a team to score goals. Sometimes you just need the floodgates to open and everybody forgets about the slump, the tough stretch.
“We’re sticking with it, staying positive. I know I sound like a broken record, but really, in this business you have to stay positive or else you’re going to go crazy.”
The Avs have issues all over the ice. Defensive breakdowns have led to an extraordinary amount of odd-man rushes. Since the Avs began 3-1, the end-to-end play under first-year coach Jared Bednar has been inconsistent — and somewhat maddening Sunday when the Bruins outshot the rested hosts 24-6 in the second period and 46-20 for the game. And goalie play has been erratic at times.
The Avalanche will move on without first-line center and leading scorer Matt Duchene, who will miss his second consecutive game Tuesday, against the Los Angeles Kings, when Colorado concludes a four-game homestand. After Sunday’s loss to the Bruins, Bednar said he expected Duchene — who suffered a concussion Thursday against Winnipeg — to practice Monday. But he didn’t, so he won’t play Tuesday.
“He didn’t feel he was ready to skate,” Bednar said.
The Avalanche, however, will welcome the return of winger Blake Comeau, who has missed four games with a groin injury.
“Since training camp, I’ve had issues with my groins, and I got to a point where I was just trying to make it through the game, rather than being able to play the way I need to play to help this team win,” Comeau said. “I wasn’t helping anyone out playing the way I was.”
Comeau studied the Avalanche’s play over the last week.
“We can do a better job getting guys right in the goalie’s eyes,” Comeau said. “We’re doing the stick screen too much, rather than taking his eyes away (with bodies). Sometimes when you go through scoring funks, you press a little more than if you were scoring goals at a better rate. I think it’s going to take one game where everything is clicking, we get the greasy goals, get the confidence back and go from there.”
LOS ANGELES AT COLORADO, 7 p.m. Tuesday, ALT, 950 AM
Spotlight on: Dustin Brown
The 32-year-old forward led the Kings to two Stanley Cup championships but was stripped of his captaincy over the summer. The “C” was given to Anze Kopitar. Brown wasn’t pleased, yet he’s still with the team and coming off his 900th career NHL game — all with the Kings. Brown has 220 career goals.
NOTEBOOK
Kings: They are 1-2-1 on a five-game road trip that concludes in Denver. … Forward and team captain Anze Kopitar is questionable with an undisclosed upper body injury. Goalie Jeff Zatkoff (lower body) is also questionable…..Los Angeles is carrying three goalies and former Av Peter Budaj will probably get the start ahead of Jack Campbell. Budaj, 34, appeared in 242 games with Colorado from 2005-11. … The Kings are 25th in league scoring (2.38 goals-per game) and 28th in power play (9.8 percent).
Avalanche: A night after making his NHL debut, forward A.J. Greer was reassigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League, where he was recalled Saturday. Greer leads the Rampage in scoring and was no longer needed in Colorado with the return of veteran Blake Comeau. … Semyon Varlamov will start in goal. … Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will also return to the lineup Tuesday. He was a healthy scratch the past two games. “As a team, when you struggle, you got to find ways to make changes and unfortunately for me that was one of the changes the coaching staff decided to make,” Wiercioch said. … The Avs are 3-4 at home, including 1-2 on this four-game homestand. “No fun for any of us in here,” Wiercioch said. “When things are going well, it’s easy to keep it rolling. But when you start losing games and not scoring goals, frustration sets in the locker room pretty easily and we’re dealing with that right now.”
