Avalanche embracing optimism heading into contest against Leafs

With the Avalanche back in town following a peculiar road trip out east that saw them lose all three games in overtime, the focus today was not on what they lost on the trip but rather what they gained.

The players and head coach Jared Bednar stressed the importance of buying into the positivity of the situation right now. Despite dropping to 1-11 in overtime this season, Avs players and coaches feel they are on the verge of a breakout and aren’t down on themselves despite losing every game of the road trip.

“I think from where we were at going into the road trip, those were three really good hockey teams we played on the road,” Alexander Kerfoot said. “I wouldn’t consider it a bad road trip at all. Overtime games can go any direction. Obviously, we’ve had our difficulties this year but if we get a couple bounces in one, even two of those overtime games, everyone is coming back and we’re talking about how great of a road trip it is. We got points in all three games. We were talking earlier today how we haven’t done that in a while. Like I said, if we can play competitive hockey games down the stretch and take them to overtime, eventually we’ll win a couple of those.”

The focus on the team’s futility in overtime was noticeable today as players throughout the locker room answered questions throughout the morning about why a team seemingly built for success in the three on three format is having such epic struggles. Even though they seemed to get better in each overtime session on the trip, they still couldn’t find a way to get the badly-needed second point in any of the games.

“We talked about some stuff,” Kerfoot told BSN Denver. “We want to control the puck a little bit more, not get guys lost down low in the offensive zone as much, be a little more patient with the puck and I think we did a really good job of that in Boston. We had the puck for maybe three straight minutes in that game, then lose a draw in the defensive zone and get a tough break and sometimes that’s just how it goes.”

Kerfoot himself has hit a bit of a lull in the season as he has just three points (2g, 1a) in his last 13 games. That his 27 points are still good for sixth on the team in scoring and fifth among forwards continues to underscore the parity of mediocrity on lines two through four this season. In the absence of the injured Colin Wilson, Tyson Jost was recalled from the Colorado Eagles and will resume his former duties on a line with Kerfoot and J.T. Compher. It’s a combination Colorado hopes will spark something in an increasingly dormant offensive attack.

“It’s great having him back,” Kerfoot said of Jost’s return. “He has a good attitude with everything. He went down there and did really well and seems to have a lot of his confidence back so I’m looking forward to it.”

The Avalanche will need as much of that confidence as possible as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. They beat Toronto last month in an exciting 6-3 contest and are looking to sweep the season series.

News and Notes

• Following practice, Bednar declined to provide any clear updates on Wilson’s injury, both the nature of it and the timetable of his return.
• Ian Cole landed on Injured Reserve today and Bednar stated he is out “indefinitely”. Ryan Graves will continue to slot into the lineup during Cole’s absence.
• Semyon Varlamov will get another start in goal as it continues to look like year one of the Philipp Grubauer experiment will result in a failure