On the road again ...
Didn't the Avalanche just come home after spending two weeks away from the Pepsi Center?
A 5-3 win against Winnipeg on Saturday salvaged a split of the two-game homestand, and now the Avalanche will play the next four on the road starting with back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday against the New York Islanders and New Jersey. They'll also play the Rangers and Minnesota on the trip.
"We're used to the road games now," said captain Gabriel Landeskog, who had a goal and two assists against the Jets to stretch his scoring streak to five games (two goals, six assists). "Our record is better on the road (6-7-0) than it is at home (3-6-1). Home ice hasn't been good enough for us, and that's a big part of our record. You have to be a good team at home and be at least .500 on the road, so we have to start winning games on home ice."
That will have to wait for now. The Avalanche return home to play Minnesota on Dec. 7 to begin a stretch where they'll play 15 of 22 games at home through Jan. 22. Of those 22 games, 11 will be against Central Division teams; Saturday's win gave them a 3-1-0 record against division opponents.
"We have a lot of division games coming up after this road trip, so we need to be good in them," Matt Duchene said.
Monday's game will be the Avalanche's first at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Islanders' new home after spending 43 seasons at the Nassau Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.
The Islanders are 7-4-2 there, 12-8-4 overall.
"For us, we just need to win two in a row now and then we'll look at the next game after that," Landeskog said. "We're just focusing on the Islanders. That's going to be a big one."
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Goalie Semyon Varlamov is scheduled to start Monday. He made 25 saves against the Jets after getting the hook Wednesday against Ottawa.
Patrick Roy, who collected his 100th win as Avalanche coach, wasn't overly impressed with Varlamov's game Saturday. His assessment: "He was OK."
Still, Varlamov said he was grateful to get a second chance after allowing three goals on 15 shots in the 5-3 loss to the Senators.
"A lot of coaches, they would just put the goalie on the bench after the bad game, but Patrick trusts in me and I appreciate it," he said. "I mean, it’s huge for me to get the confidence from him."
Varlamov will take a 5-6-1 record into Monday's game. He has a 3.20 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in 13 games this season. He's gone 2-1-1 with one shutout and a 2.25 average in four career games against the Islanders.
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Duchene had an empty-net goal and two assists against the Jets. The goal was his 11th in November, breaking the Avalanche record he held with Claude Lemieux for goals this month. Lemieux set the mark in 1995-96.
"It feels good," said Duchene, who had one goal in October. " Any time you're among some of the names that have played in this organization, it's nice. I'm playing with two amazing hockey players in Gabe and Nate (MacKinnon). They make it easier for me. So much credit goes to those guys."
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Chris Wagner needed 25 games to score his first NHL goal, which he netted Wednesday against Ottawa. He scored what proved to be the winning goal early in the third period Saturday with help from fourth-line mates Jack Skille and Andreas Martinsen.
"It's taken a while, but it's coming along," said Wagner, who was claimed on waivers Nov. 15 from Anaheim. "I don't know how to explain it, I'm just throwing pucks at the net and things happen."
Andrew Agozzino, who was recalled Friday from San Antonio, began the game on the fourth line but replaced Martinsen on the second unit with Mikhail Grigorenko and Jarome Iginla late in the second period. He had one shot on goal and made a couple of important defensive plays in 9:08 of ice time.
Agozzino's game is more suited to second- or third-line duty. He had 64 points (30 goals, 34 assists) in 74 games last season with Lake Erie and was leading the Rampage in scoring this year with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 13 games when he was promoted.
“I was so happy with Agozzino,… Roy said. "It was a tough night for Martinsen. I thought (Agozzino) played really well. Andrew played really well for his first game this year with us. You saw the difference, just possession. He brought some energy. I just want him to continue to play like this.…