Facing adversity, Avalanche aim to regain form vs. Canadiens
The Colorado Avalanche visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday on the heels of arguably their most disappointing performance in what has been a standout season.
The Avalanche sit atop the league standings, nine points ahead of their closest competitors, but are looking to rebound after a dismal 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday in the second outing of a four-game road trip.
Colorado has managed only one win in four games and two in seven (2-3-2) amidst what has been a dog-days portion of their season.
"You're going to face adversity, there's no question, right?" Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We have to find a way to bounce back again and then string a couple of games together. But it never hurts to go through a little bit of a stretch where you have to push and play your best, and you got to respond."
Colorado, the stingiest team in the league defensively, has surrendered five or more goals in three of its last six outings.
But that is not the only disappointing aspect of Wednesday's clash.
Colorado was held to four shots on goal in the first period, the lowest for a period this season. Then the Avalanche mustered the same number in the second frame.
Even after only managing 18 shots on net in Ottawa, Colorado leads the league with an average of 34.6, a full 2.5 more than the Carolina Hurricanes, who sit second in that stat.
"We couldn't really keep sustained O-zone time to even get shots," said forward Parker Kelly, whose late second-period goal tied the game at 1-1. "So not good enough for us tonight, and we're going to have to grind one out tomorrow in Montreal."
The Canadiens are looking to build on a 3-2 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday - the first part of a two-game homestand.
Montreal, which holds the Eastern Conference's first wild-card position, snapped a two-game losing skid by recovering after surrendering a late lead.
"We're playing some really good teams," coach Martin St. Louis said. "You've got to be calculated, what you do with the puck and your decision-making in the third (period), and I thought we were."
The Canadiens boast an impressive 17-6-0 record against Western Conference opponents, but that is not the only noteworthy run.
Forward Cole Caufield tallied for a sixth consecutive game, the longest goal-scoring spree of his career. Caufield, who reached the 30-goal mark, has netted 11 points (nine goals, two assists) in his run.
"That's how hockey goes. You can go a couple of games without a goal. I just like where my game is at right now," Caufield said. "I think I'm getting a lot of chances."
Curiously, one day after goaltender Jakub Dobes was spectacular in a 32-save performance, the Canadiens fired goaltending coach Eric Raymond on Wednesday and promoted Marco Marciano.
Netminding has been an issue all season for Montreal, which is near the bottom in team save percentage and goals against.
"This is an unfortunate part of the business," president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said. "We've had some success with the goalies under Eric. This isn't a one-person reflection. It's an organizational decision we made to have a new voice and move forward. Marco has history with our goalies. Some success. We just felt at this time it was the right move."