Maybe the Avalanche can get well at home. They'd better after finishing a 1-2-1 road trip through the East with a 3-2 loss Saturday night in Montreal.
The Avalanche will play four of the next five games at the Pepsi Center, taking a 1-4-1 record into Tuesday's contest against the Florida Panthers, followed by a Friday visit by the Vancouver Canucks.
But the losses will continue unless they clean up all the defensive mistakes they've been making and start scoring more goals. The Avalanche managed nine goals on the four-game trip after beginning the season with back-to-back shutout losses to Minnesota.
Rookie goalie Calvin Pickard, making his first NHL start with Semyon Varlamov (groin) and Reto Berra (neck) out with injuries, played well enough Saturday. He made 17 saves in the first period, including one on a Max Pacioretty breakaway, and stopped 33 of 36 shots overall.
Alex Tanguay opened the scoring for the Avalanche at 2:23 of the first period when he tapped John Mitchell's pass into an open net, but the Canadiens scored three times in the second to take the lead for good.
P.K. Subban scored twice, the first goal coming with a shot from the point on a power play at 4:13 and the second at 17:59 after he exited the penalty box. Subban skated down left wing with the puck and came from behind the net after Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie fell. Subban was alone in front and he shot the puck inside the right post.
Alex Galchenyuk also scored after he finished serving a penalty 6:36 earlier to break the 1-1 tie. He stripped the puck from Nathan MacKinnon in the neutral zone, passed to Brandon Prust while driving to the net and converted the return pass.
"Defensively we didn't play well on those 1-on-2's," coach Patrick Roy said of the goals that came after Galchenyuk and Subban left the penalty box. "We gave too much room to the puck carrier and should have put more pressure (on them), especially with the one when Tyson tripped behind the net or lost his edge. I think Nick Holden should have looked (to see) where Subban was instead of turning his back."
The Avalanche pulled within 3-2 with 2:31 remaining in the third period -- 13 seconds after Pickard went to the bench for a sixth skater. Jarome Iginla took a shot and Matt Duchene, who had 10 shots on goal, deflected the puck behind goalie Carey Price (32 saves).
The Avalanche totaled four shots on four futile power plays and have gone 1-for-26 with the man advantage in the first six games. Duchene cranked a shot off the crossbar on a first-period power play after Tanguay scored.
Well, at least Pickard did his job and looked like a guy Roy can count on while Varlamov and Berra are sidelined.
"I was comfortable," Roy told reporters. "He was very calm before the game. Even yesterday we had a lot of confidence in him. We didn't show any panic in our decisions or in the way we dealt with the situation. He's the reason why we had a chance to come back in that game. Both goaltenders were outstanding. In the second period we had about 10 good scoring chances and of the 10, seven missed the net. we're going to have to be a little bit better around the net, put more pucks on net and make the goalie work a little more."
Isn't it time for Roy to give Ryan Wilson another chance to see what he can do on defense, along with Zach Redmond, who has yet to play this season?
*****
Rick Pracey, who had been the Avalanche's chief amateur scout, is no longer with the organization.
I e-mailed the Avalanche on Saturday after noticing his name was no longer listed in the staff directory on the Avalanche web site. A team spokesman e-mailed back simply stating: "Rick is no longer employed by the Avalanche."
No explanation was given, so that's all I know for now.