I realize that the Avalanche's lack of offense has been a season-long problem, but it still boggles the mind how inept it is.
Calvin Pickard has to be wondering the same thing, though he'd never say it for public consumption.
Pickard has had some rough starts in net, but he's been pretty good lately, allowing two goals or fewer in four of his past five starts and 10 goals total in this stretch. He's faced 175 shots -- that's 35 per game -- and posted a .943 save percentage, yet he has one win to show for it (1-3-1).
The Avalanche have scored six goals -- six -- in the five games, five in regulation. Mikko Rantanen's overtime goal on Feb. 17 produced a 2-1 win at Carolina.
It was more of the same Thursday in Ottawa, where the Senators outshot the Avalanche 42-23 in a 2-1 win, with new acquisition Alex Burrows scoring both goals. Colorado was outshot 17-5 in the second period.
The Avalanche avoided getting shut out for the 11th time when Rene Bourque scored at 5:25 of the third period. He had played in 19 consecutive games since scoring Dec. 14 against Philadelphia.
The inept power play managed one shot on two man advantages.
Matt Duchene continued his slump; he had two shots and has one goal in his past 19 games.
Nathan MacKinnon had two shots, an assist on Bourque's goal, and has one goal in the past 22 games.
Gabriel Landeskog had one shot and has two goals (one into an empty net) in his past 10 games.
Colorado has scored two goals or fewer in 43 of 62 games for the season.
Just mind-boggling.
*****
Center J.T. Compher made his NHL debut Thursday, skating on a line with Blake Comeau and Matt Nieto.
Compher, a key part of the Ryan O'Reilly trade, was minus-1 in 11:13 of ice time, had three hits, one takeaway and won four of seven faceoffs.
“It was a great experience,… Compher told the Denver Post. “As the game went on, I got a little more comfortable making plays. I’m just taking everything in stride. You have to learn from everything that happens and the important part is, I’m here now and just want to take advantage of the opportunity.…
Compher's family arrived in time from the Chicago area to watch his first game.
"It’s unbelievable," he said. "It’s so great they could come, after everything they sacrificed to get me to this point."