The Colorado Avalanche injected offense into their lineup in the offseason hoping to alleviate the scoring burden from their top line.
It started out well, but now Colorado isn’t getting secondary scoring — or any scoring at all.
The Avalanche have lost three of their past four games, getting shut out in all three setbacks, and have hit a funk after starting the season with six straight wins. They will try to break out of it when they host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Denver.
“Three out of four games have been really poor for us,” Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon said after a 7-0 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. “Tough effort. It starts with our top players. We’re not getting the job done and we need to play better.”
It is the second time the Avalanche have been blanked three times in a four-game stretch; it also happened in April 2009, per NHL Stats.
Colorado has been better on special teams, but it performed poorly against Vegas when it allowed two short-handed goals. The Avalanche are still trying to find a rhythm with their new players. Coach Jared Bednar — who missed Monday’s practice with an illness — has tinkered with his lines to find the right fit.
“It feels disconnected. I feel like we’re getting decent looks, but the chemistry feels off,” MacKinnon said. “A lot of new players and I need to be better everywhere. We’ve done a lot of good things in this league but that doesn’t matter at all. Each year you have to prove yourself again, again and again.”
Colorado has stayed relatively healthy this season but will likely be without fourth-line center Frederik Olofsson (upper-body injury). The team called up Ondrej Pavel from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.
New Jersey is coming off a 4-2 win at Chicago on Sunday and wraps up its four-game road trip in Denver. The Devils won’t have star center Jack Hughes, who came away with a right shoulder injury in a 4-1 loss at St. Louis on Friday.
Hughes was checked awkwardly into the boards and went to the locker room but returned for a shift. Coach Lindy Ruff took him out after that, and Hughes returned to New Jersey to be checked out by the medical staff.
He’s considered week-to-week, the team said.
It’s a big blow for the Devils. Entering NHL play Monday, Hughes was tied for the league lead in points with 20 (five goals, 15 assists) through 10 games.
“It’s tough,” New Jersey forward Curtis Lazar said. “Look at the start he’s had. I’m not going to lie, we were a little dejected when it happened. But, again, you’ve got to kind of turn the page when you realize he’s not coming back.”
New Jersey already was playing without center Nico Hischier, who has missed four straight games with an upper-body injury.
“Every team has to deal with injuries,” Ruff said. “We’re dealing with a couple of key injuries. At the same time, it’s a great opportunity for other guys to step in.”
–Field Level Media