The Avalanche didn't practice Saturday after arriving from Raleigh, where on Friday they completed a three-game road trip with a 3-2 loss to Carolina.
Losing two of the three games leaves the Avalanche with a 3-6-1 record and seven points, six points behind Winnipeg for the second wild card playoff position in the Western Conference before the Jets played Columbus on Saturday night.
The Avalanche were 2-4-4 through 10 games last season.
They play three of the next four games at the Pepsi Center, starting with Sunday afternoon's game against San Jose, which lost 5-3 in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. The Sharks (5-5-0) have lost five of their past six games after starting the season with four consecutive wins.
"The way we started the season the first 10 games, the next 10 games need to be outstanding in order for us to get back in the standings as soon as possible," Alex Tanguay said Saturday. "We know the importance of the start. We haven't played to the level we think we're capable of playing and now we have to fight extremely hard to get ourselves back.
"We know the distance there is now between us and (a playoff position) and we need to make up that ground right away."
Special teams continue to hurt this team in a big way. The Avalanche went 0-for-3 on power plays Friday, which included a 30-second 5-on-3 in the first period. They went 0-for-14 on power plays on the trip while allowing five power-play goals and a shorthanded goal.
Colorado has gone 1-for-24 with the man advantage in the past five games, 1-for-22 in five road games and 3-for-36 in the past eight games overall since connecting for four goals on six power plays in the first two games.
It's no wonder five of the seven losses have been by one goal, four in regulation and one in overtime.
While Matt Duchene (one goal, one assist) has been getting plenty of heat for his play, he's had a lot of company.
Blake Comeau hasn't scored a goal, Carl Soderberg's first goal came with 32.8 seconds left in Friday's game, and Gabriel Landeskog has one goal and one assist in seven games (along with six minor penalties) after getting four goals and two assists in the first three games.
The Avalanche isn't getting any offense from their defense. Tyson Barrie has no goals and two assists in seven games (he missed three games with his suspension), Erik Johnson has gone eight games without a point since getting two power-play goals and an assist in the first two games, and Francois Beauchemin has one assist in eight games after getting five in the first two games.
The Avalanche still don't have an even-strength goal from a defenseman.
*****
Former Avalanche right wing Milan Hejduk is among six people who will be inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame on April 19.
Hejduk played 1,020 regular-season games over 14 seasons with the Avalanche. He sits fourth in franchise history for goals (375) and points (805) and fifth in assists (430). He has the franchise record for overtime goals with nine. He ranks fourth in playoff scoring with 76 points (34 goals, 42 assists) in 112 games and was a member of the Avalanche's Stanley Cup championship team in 2001.
Hejduk made the NHL's all-rookie team in 1998-99 and won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2002-03 for leading the league in goals with 50.
Hejduk was team captain for one season (2011-12) and made three NHL All-Star Games (2000, 2001 and 2009). He played in three Olympic Games for his native Czech Republic, earning a gold medal in 1998 and a bronze medal in 2006. The Czechs were seventh in 2002.