The Colorado Avalanche opened their six-game road trip with a third straight win that helped put them in striking distance for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The rest of the trip has effectively ensured that won’t become a reality.
The Avalanche have been outscored by 13 goals while losing their past four games, a skid they’ll hope to snap as they try to salvage the finale of their trip Monday night against the league-worst New York Islanders.
Colorado (28-34-1) had lost 11 of 14 heading into a game at Detroit on Feb. 15, but beat the Stanley Cup champions 6-5 in a shootout. The Avalanche followed that with a home win over Ottawa before opening a season-high six-game road trip at Washington.
Colorado cruised past the Southeast Division-leading Capitals 4-1, a win that put it within five points of the last playoff spot in the West. The rest of the trip, however, has been a disaster. The Avalanche lost in Carolina and Atlanta before getting blanked 4-0 in New Jersey on Thursday, and they followed that up by allowing four first-period goals in a 6-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
Coach Tony Granato’s team is now in last place in the West, 10 points out of the eighth spot.
“Obviously we’re not happy with our positioning,” forward Darcy Tucker said. “We’ve just got to continue to work hard and move forward and try to be as tight as we can and stick together.”
The Avalanche score 2.56 goals per game to rank among the bottom third of the league, but it’s been an inability to stop anything that’s really hampered them. Colorado allows an average of 3.16 goals, the most in the West.
Goaltender Peter Budaj got pulled 13 minutes into the loss to the Rangers, his fifth straight. He’s 3-10-0 with a 3.74 goals-against average in his last 13 starts. Andrew Raycroft hasn’t been much better, going 3-8-0 with a 3.52 GAA in his last 12 games.
The Islanders (19-36-7) certainly know something about defensive deficiencies, as they’re one of three teams that have allowed more goals than Colorado.
They’ve been much better lately, however. New York has two shutout wins over Eastern playoff contenders in its last four games, first a 4-0 victory over New Jersey on Feb. 21, then a 2-0 win over Buffalo on Saturday as Yann Danis made 31 saves.
Danis, who was also in goal against the Devils, is 2-1-0 with a 0.34 GAA in his last three starts.
“Pucks are just hitting me right now,” Danis told the Islanders’ official Web site. “My positioning has been good; I think that’s been the key to my game. Also, I think the guys are playing really good hockey in front of me.”
Both goals against the Sabres came off the stick of Sean Bergenheim, who seems to have found his touch offensively. New York’s first round pick in 2002, Bergenheim has four goals in his past four games to give him a career-high 11.
The Islanders could use more offense from Bergenheim with the news that leading goal-scorer Bill Guerin is likely to be traded. Guerin didn’t play against Buffalo and reports indicate a deal is imminent.
Colorado has lost four straight on Long Island, where they haven’t played since December 2005.
Team Comparison
Blog Coverage from SB Nation
Mile High Hockey
Lighthouse HockeyInjuries
Brandon Yip RW, Ruslan Salei D, Matt Hendricks C
Rick DiPietro G, Mark Flood D, Jeremy Reich LW, Radek Martinek D, Doug Weight C
Notes
Colorado finished 32-45-5 this season. The Avalanche posted 69 points - 10 behind the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes. They finished last in the Western Conference for the first time since moving to Denver in 1995. ... Colorado had never finished with fewer than 95 points since its franchise moved to Denver. ... Colorado prospects Colby Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk played vital roles in helping Boston University win the NCAA national championship on Saturday.
Apr 12, 9:36 pm EDT
The Islanders, who finished in last place in the Eastern Conference, finished the season 26-47-9 on the season. ... New York finished with 61 points, its lowest total since 2000-01 (52). ... The Islanders, who had the worst record in the NHL, have a strong chance at obtaining the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft. The draft lottery is scheduled for Tuesday. ... The Islanders finished their 37th season and for the first time ever, they finished without a 20-goal scorer on their roster.
Apr 12, 11:05 pm EDT
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