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Sad, sad state at halfway point |
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Rick Sadowski
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Now that the Avalanche have reached the halfway point of the season, what do we all have to look forward to in the remaining 41 games?
More and more trade rumors and speculation, as if there hasn't already been plenty, and probably more and more mediocre and poor play on the ice, as if there hasn't already been way too much of that.
The Avalanche finished the first half with a 13-27-1 record and 27 points, the worst record in the league and 21 points out of the playoffs, which haven't even been a pipe dream for weeks.
They're an embarrassing 5-15-1 at the Pepsi Center -- 1-11-1 in the past 13 games -- 8-12-0 on the road.
"You look at where we are in the standings and there's obviously lots of speculation and rumors going around about our team, so that's tough for the players to deal with, I think, at times," coach Jared Bednar said the other day. "They're hearing different rumors every day, and you're trying to keep them focused and concentrating at the task at hand and understanding that they just have to continue to go and play, and that it's out of their control, I think is the most important thing that we can try and do as a staff."
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Kudos to Cody McLeod, who scored a goal and fought with Jarome Iginla in Nashville's 3-2 win on Saturday, the day after he was traded for the chance to get into the postseason.
McLeod played a season-high 10:12 (nearly double his average) and didn't even meet his new teammates until two hours before the opening faceoff. The Predators traveled Saturday morning because mechanical problems with their plane prevented them from flying Friday.
The Avalanche showed a nice video tribute during a TV timeout early in the first period.
"Listen, he gets a standing ovation, I think that's well deserved," Bednar said. "It's good to see him getting that recognition for everything he's put into this organization. He's a classy guy, great teammate, a heart-and-soul type guy. I don't like him scoring against us, but I'm glad he got the recognition and he's found a home there and hopefully he can help them get to where they want to go."
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Now, back to more of ... the sad state of this team.
The Avalanche have scored the fewest goals (82) and allowed the most (136). The power play, if you want to call it that, has produced 18 goals -- seven at home -- and ranks 29th in the 30-team league at 13.0 percent; the league average is 18.7 percent.
Colorado is 3-for-53 on power plays in the past 14 games; the record is 2-12-0 in this stretch.
The penalty killers are marginally better, ranked 23rd in the league at 78.5 percent, having allowed 34 goals; the league average is 81.3 percent.
Semyon Varlamov is 6-16-0 with a 3.31 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. Calvin Pickard is 7-11-1 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .902 save percentage.
Nathan MacKinnon, who was benched briefly in the second period Saturday -- he played 3:08 in the period -- leads the Avalanche in scoring with 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 41 games. He has a minus-13 plus/minus rating.
MacKinnon logged 16:32 in ice time, about 3-1 2 minutes below his 20:05 average, against the Predators.
“I wasn’t playing that good and just needed to sit down for a bit and regroup,” MacKinnon told the Denver Post after practice Sunday, adding that he had a brief conversation with Bednar and considered the issue closed.
Matt Duchene is second in scoring with 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 37 games with a minus-14 rating. Tyson Barrie is next with 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) in 41 games with a team-worst minus-24 rating.
Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog have been mentioned the most in rumors, and it sure seems to be having an effect on Duchene's play. He has one goal in the past 13 games.
"He's got a history of being a little bit of a streaky guy, production wise," Bednar said. "I've talked to him about it. We're trying to get him to stay positive and feel good about his game. I think he can control a little bit of his lows just by staying positive and kind of working through it. He's a hard working guy, he's got a lot of pride and he wants to do well. He's got to find a way not to get so down on himself."
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