Can't say I'm surprised the Avalanche lost in Vancouver again. Colorado's 3-1 defeat Sunday night extended its winless streak there to nine in a row (0-8-1).
The Avalanche hasn't won in Vancouver since a 4-3 shootout decision on April 6, 2010 and its last regulation win in the B.C. city was a 4-1 victory on April 5, 2009. Home or away, the Canucks have the Avalanche's number; Colorado has four wins in the past 23 meetings (4-16-3).
The Avalanche needed a goal from Jamie McGinn with 7.1 seconds left to avoid being blanked for the first time this season, and chances are pretty good Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo would have pitched a shutout if Avalanche coach Patrick Roy hadn't pulled goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere with five minutes remaining.
Roy told reporters he yanked Giguere for a sixth skater to show his players he wasn't quitting on them.
"You know what? All year we’ve been like this," Roy said. "We never quit. We battled through, and I honestly thought we played a better game than (the Canucks). Unfortunately, we have nothing to show for the result."
I'm not so sure about the Avalanche outplaying Vancouver. The Canucks took a 1-0 lead in the first period on the first of Mike Santorelli's two goals after a turnover by defenseman Nate Guenin. Ryan Kesler knocked in the rebound of Santorelli's shot early in the third period, and Santorelli iced matters six minutes later on a two-on-one rush.
Luongo was solid in stopping 28 shots against an Avalanche team whose offense has been in hibernation for a couple of weeks with 14 goals in the past seven games. The surprising part is the Avalanche managed to win four of them.
Too many top players are in slumps, including center Matt Duchene, who has no goals and one assist in the past seven games. You have to wonder if he's still hampered by the oblique injury that forced him to miss three games.
Duchene isn't alone. Ryan O'Reilly has no goals and one assist in the past seven games; Paul Stastny has no points in six; McGinn's goal Sunday was his first point in six games, and he has two goals and one assist in the past 20.
None of the team's offense-minded defensemen are scoring. Erik Johnson has no goals and two assists in 12 games; Tyson Barrie and Andre Benoit are both scoreless in the past seven.
The power play? The Avalanche had one Sunday that lasted 17 seconds, and it has gone 0-for-20 over the past seven games.
Maybe Alex Tanguay will be available this week. The Avalanche is 8-7-0 without him since he hurt his knee Nov. 2 against Montreal. The team isn't practicing Monday and plays Phoenix on Tuesday at the Pepsi Center.
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Sunday's loss dropped the Avalanche into fourth place in the Central Division, one point behind Minnesota. But the Avalanche (20-8-0) has played four fewer games than the Wild (18-9-5).
Giguere, who made 18 saves against the Canucks, lost for the first time in eight decisions.
"These are just stats for you guys to talk about," Giguere said of his 7-0-0 start. "It was nice, but I try to go in there and compete every day. Unfortunately, losing is part of the game too. I'm just going to regroup and get ready for the next chance I get to play."
My guess is Semyon Varlamov will be back in goal Tuesday after he allowed eight goals on 28 shots in Thursday's 8-2 loss in Edmonton. He made 41 saves when the Avalanche defeated the Coyotes 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 21.