Offense goes into deep freeze

Colorado manages 16 shots in defeat

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 13, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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Photo by Jay Laprete / Associated Press

The Blue Jackets' Jody Shelley, left, and the Avalanche's Paul Stastny fight for the puck during Wednesday's game in Columbus, Ohio. The Avalanche offense was stymied in the 4-1 loss.

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Nationwide Arena officials were asked to drop the temperature inside the building a few degrees Wednesday night to help maintain decent ice conditions.

So it was rather chilly, though not quite as frigid as an Avalanche attack that 72 hours earlier lit up the St. Louis Blues for nine goals at the Pepsi Center.

The Columbus Blue Jackets skated off with a 4-1 win by using swarming, physical defensive tactics that limited the Avalanche to 16 shots, held the red-hot Ryan Smyth-Paul Stastny-Milan Hej duk line in check and turned two turnovers into goals.

"They weren't giving up a lot," Smyth said. "It's frustrating at times, but that's when you have to keep grinding, create a little havoc down low and make them work, find ways to take the puck to the net. For the most part, we weren't in their zone enough to sustain any pressure."

The loss was the second in a week in this building - the Avalanche turned a 3-1 third-period lead into a stunning 5-4 loss in the initial visit - and dropped the team to 4-10-1 on the road heading into tonight's game against the Nashville Predators.

"It's pretty much gut-check time on the road," Smyth said. "We got to clamp down and find ways to win or else we won't be in any race."

The Blue Jackets frustrated the Avalanche in more ways than one. They had only one shot on goal in the second period, it took them 11:32 to get it, and it turned into the decisive goal.

Rookie Jared Boll, who has three goals and 102 penalty minutes in 30 games, fired a 40-footer that clipped Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan well outside the net and caromed behind startled goalie Jose Theodore at 11:32 to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead.

"It's always fun to help your team win in other ways than just fighting and energy," Boll said.

So, despite holding Columbus to eight shots through 40 minutes, the Avalanche entered the third period down by a goal.

"That second goal turned out to be a big goal because we played a pretty good second period," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said. "We had to get that puck in deep. A couple, three times we couldn't get it in deep and it turns out to be the big one. It was a critical goal."

The Avalanche had a couple of power-play chances after that to tie the score, couldn't convert and fell behind by 3-1 with 5:18 remaining in the third period.

Kris Beech and Jiri Novotny double-teamed Jeff Finger along the boards, the Avalanche defenseman coughed up the puck and Beech put a back-handed shot past Theodore, who had 12 saves.

Sergei Fedorov closed the scoring by flipping the puck from the red line into an empty net with 50 seconds to play.

"We didn't generate enough chances," Quenneville said. "We normally generate more. They checked well, they checked hard, they played a strong defensive game. When you get the lead like that and you don't have to score, it's an easier game to play."

Manny Malhotra scored the only goal of the first period after he pressured Avalanche rookie T.J. Hensick into a turnover in the corner. Malhotra, who missed the previous five games with a knee injury, passed the puck to Dan Fritsche, skated to the net and converted the return pass at 10:21.

The Avalanche failed to register a shot on goal over the final 10 minutes of the period and scored on its first shot of the second when Ben Guite slammed the puck from the slot into a wide-open net at 3:07.

John-Michael Liles took a point shot that deflected to Andrew Brunette to Norrena's right, and Brunette slid it to Guite in front for his second goal of the season.

Little did the Avalanche know that Guite's goal would be it for the night.

"They were clogging the neutral zone and once they got the lead they played a little more safe," Stastny said. "They put four (players) across and sometimes you tried to force it and they would break out real quick. It was frustrating for us at times. Like you saw on the board, it was low shots both ways.

"It's tough, but you have to expect it. That's how they win their games."

The Blue Jackets have won three of the past five meetings after going 1-19-2 in the first 22 games between the teams.

Blue Jackets 4, Avalanche 1

Colorado0 1 0 - 1

Columbus1 1 2 - 4

First period - 1, Clm, Malhotra 5 (Fritsche), 10:21. Penalties - Arnason, Col, (high-sticking), 3:19; Klesla, Clm (roughing), 3:19.

Second period - 2, Col, Guite 2 (Brunette, Liles), 3:07. 3, Clm, Boll 3 (Glencross, Hejda), 11:32. Penalties - Clm bench, served by Beech (too many men), 7:34; Svatos, Col, (delay of game), 14:33; Peca, Clm (holding), 16:55; Hainsey, Clm (holding), 19:50.

Third period - 4, Clm, Beech 3 (Novotny), 14:42. 5, Clm, Fedorov 6, 19:10 (en). Penalty - Guite, Col, (tripping), 8:58.

Shots - Col 5-7-4 - 16. Clm 7-1-8 - 16. Power plays - Col 0 of 3; Clm 0 of 2. Goalies - Col, Theodore 7-7-1 (15 shots-12 saves). Clm, Norrena 4-5-3 (16-15). A - 13,150 (18,136). T - 2:15. Referees - Greg Kimmerly, Tom Kowal. Linesmen - Pierre Champoux, Brad Kovachik.

NUMBERS GAME

-8plus/minus rating and five shots on goal for the Avalanche line of Ryan Smyth, Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk.

SAKIC MISSES TRIP

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a groin injury, was placed on the injured reserve list retroactive to Nov. 30. He didn't accompany the team on the two-game trip, which ends tonight against Nashville.

"There's a chance he's going to get on the ice this week. That's what we're hoping for," coach Joel Quenneville said.

Asked if Sakic's condition is more serious than was first thought, Quenneville said: "I don't know if it's worse. I just think that we want to make sure that (the problem) is gone. We don't want this groin thing to linger throughout the year. Let's get it right here."

LEOPOLD MAY PLAY

If any hockey player deserves to have some good luck come his way, it's Jordan Leopold. Four separate injuries have caused the Avalanche defenseman to miss 90 of the 112 games the team has played since his June 2006 acquisition from Calgary.

"Nobody would want to go through what he has," Quenneville said.

Leopold, who fractured his right wrist Oct. 23 against Edmonton, might be in the lineup tonight. Forward Ian Laperriere also hopes to play after missing 12 of 13 games with a right knee injury.

HE SAID IT

"It was a pretty easy evening."

Fredrik Norrena, below, Blue Jackets goalie, who faced 16 shots in his team's 4-1 win.

Rick Sadowski

Avalanche at Predators

* When: 6 MST tonight.

* Where: Sommet Center, Nashville, Tenn.

* TV/Radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

* Leading scorers

Colorado (16-13-1) G A P

C Paul Stastny 13 26 39

RW Milan Hejduk 13 13 26

LW Ryan Smyth 9 15 24

RW Andrew Brunette 5 17 22

LW Wojtek Wolski 11 9 20

Coach:

Joel Quenneville

Nashville (14-12-2) G A P

RW Martin Erat 9 16 25

C David Legwand 7 15 22

C Jason Arnott 8 13 21

RW Alexander Radulov 6 13 19

RW J.P. Dumont 7 11 18

Coach:

Barry Trotz * Injuries: Colorado - RW Ian Laperriere (knee) and D Jordan Leopold (wrist) are day to day; C Joe Sakic (groin) and D Kurt Sauer (neck) are on injured reserve. Nashville - LW Steve Sullivan (back) is on injured reserve.

* Sidelight: Predators general manager David Poile was promoted to team president by new chairman David Freeman, who is part of a mostly local group that purchased the franchise from Craig Leipold for $193 million. "Clearly, we have to make Nashville a hockey city," Poile, who will remain as general manager, told The Tennessean. "We have to move forward and stabilize the franchise. We've got to get rid of all the naysayers that have existed the last few years."

* Notes: The Avalanche has gone 2-1 when playing the second game of a back-to-back situation. . . . Predators goalie Chris Mason made 35 saves in a 4-0 win against the Avalanche in Nashville on Oct. 4. . . . The Predators have lost three of their past four games. . . . Trotz, the only coach in Predators history, needs three wins for 300. . . . The Predators have gone 1-for-25 on power plays in the past four games. They have killed 23-of-25 penalties in seven games.

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