This is not the start of another Avalanche collapse, coach Jared Bednar vowed after practice Monday, less than 24 hours after a 7-2 loss to Dallas that left the team with a 1-3-0 record in the first four games of a homestand that ends Tuesday against the reeling Buffalo Sabres.
It's what happened at this time last season, when after going 0-4-1 on a homestand they lost 21 of the next 25 games en route to their embarrassing 22-win, 48-point season.
"I don't see it that way," Bednar said. "We're going to do everything in our power tomorrow to come out ready to play ... I believe in this group, I think it's about the process for us, we know that. We lost three in a row earlier in the year and everyone was like, 'Oh, here's the old Avalanche,' and we proved that not to be the case. I believe we're going to do that again based on what I'm hearing and what I'm seeing from our team, and I'm confident in our work ethic."
The Avalanche lost three in a row to Dallas, St. Louis and Nashville in mid-October and responded by winning four of the next five games. That included a three-game winning streak, a modest accomplishment perhaps, but one that eluded them last season.
"We had a great practice today," Bednar said. "We're a young team, we're going to slide in and out of our game a little bit, but we have to continue to improve and move the needle and keep trying to push our standard. Right now we haven't been playing to the standard we set earlier in the year, but I think we're going to bounce back from that.
"It's a big game for us. We have to salvage some points at home because we're getting ready to go on a real tough road trip. But to say it's a 'must win' or the 'be-all, end-all,' that's just all in how we handle it whether we win or lose. We're going to go out tomorrow and give it a good effort and I believe we can get the result we want."
At 12-11-2, the Avalanche are four points out of the second wild card playoff position in the loaded and jam-packed Western Conference, two points ahead of Edmonton and seven in front of last-place Arizona.
Defenseman and assistant captain Erik Johnson, who has been especially vocal in captain Gabriel Landeskog's absence -- his get-out-of-NHL-jail card arrives after Tuesday's game -- didn't mince words after the loss to the Stars.
"I don’t give a (expletive) if we’re better than we were last year at this point, or what have you, but we gave them everything they got," Johnson said, referring to turnovers that led directly to three Dallas goals.
"We turned the puck over, we were sloppy and there's no excuse. They played last night, got in probably 2 in the morning and we were rested and ready to go, and we laid an egg. It's unacceptable.
"You just have to flush it down the toilet and focus on the next one. We played horrible."
Nathan MacKinnon said the Avalanche need to "get back to our identity," which is to use their youth and speed.
"We haven't been sharp enough or urgent enough," he said. "Simple words, but it's how we were playing well. When we're playing the right way, we seem to win. We've gotten away from that a little bit, but there's load of hockey left and we can turn it around tomorrow night."
As for the prospect of crashing and burning again:
"We have a brand new team," MacKinnon said. "Last year we didn't know what our identity was and this year we do, which is a very key thing. (But) we can't lose three in a row, especially at home. We're not the first team to go 1-3 on a homestand. We'll have more than (22) wins this season, I'm sure."
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Forward Colin Wilson practiced, is healthy and will play Tuesday -- probably on the fourth line -- after missing three games with a lower-body injury, so rookie center Dominic Toninato was reassigned to San Antonio. He had one assist in eight games while averaging a hair under eight minutes in ice time.
The Avalanche recalled forward Rocco Grimaldi from the AHL team to play on the second line with rookies Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Jost. Grimaldi has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 14 games with the Rampage.