Avalanche report: A crisis of identity

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published November 5, 2008 at 8:58 p.m.

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Talented. Underachieving. Hard-working. Lackadaisical.

Four weeks into the season, the Avalanche is a team without a true identity, and its 5-7 record is a reflection of those schizophrenic personalities.

"Inconsistency is somewhat frustrating," coach Tony Granato said after practice Wednesday. "You want your team to be consistent night after night. It's something we're battling through right now."

From goaltending and defensive coverage to special teams and offensive production, it's hard to know what to expect from the Avalanche from one game to the next.

On the heels of a five-game win streak, Colorado will try to end a four-game losing streak tonight against Northwest Division rival Minnesota. The Avalanche has not lost five games in a row since a six-game slump during the 1997-98 season.

"We've obviously shown glimpses of perfection and being a good team," forward Wojtek Wolski said. "That's what we're working toward. We're happy that it's happening at the beginning of the season and not later on. It's something we want to get out of our system."

During a three-game losing streak to start the season, the Avalanche played well enough to win at least twice. The current slide has featured two third-period meltdowns on the road and two home losses in which it fell behind by two goals early.

"I don't know if we're working on an identity, but the consistency part . . . it's hard to say (what's wrong)," defenseman Adam Foote said. "We've been in games and we've had little lapses here and there. We've got to try to get those lapses out of there."

Short day for Sakic

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic left the ice during practice after feeling some tightness in his lower back, but Granato expects him to play tonight against the Wild.

"He strained his back a bit," Granato said. "I think he got off quick enough. I think he'll be fine."

Sakic, 39, is tied for the team lead with 10 assists, but he has managed only two goals in 12 games.

Mixing it up

Seeking some answers in the midst of his team's slump, Granato made some changes to his lines and defensive pairings during practice.

"Over an 82-game season, there's going to be some adjustments you make to tweak your lines, but I don't think there's any major changes," Granato said.

Right wing Milan Hejduk, who had been skating with center Paul Stastny and Ryan Smyth, switched places with struggling winger David Jones, who had been on a line with Sakic and Wolski before being a healthy scratch Monday at Chicago.

Offseason acquisition Darcy Tucker likely will join forces with fellow pests Cody McCormick at center and Ian Laperriere at right wing.

"Certainly, when you've got (Tucker and Laperriere) on each side of the wings, they should be crashing and banging and hopefully stirring up a lot of positive things for our team," Granato said.

Return of Brunette

The Avalanche will face former teammate Andrew Brunette for the first time since the veteran power forward left as a free agent during the summer.

Brunette, who signed a three-year, $7 million contract with Minnesota, is off to a strong start with four goals and four assists.

"Andrew's a great guy," Wolski said. "We definitely miss him as a friend. It's great to see he's having some success in Minnesota, but, hopefully, it doesn't work out for him (tonight)."

• November 6, 2008

  6:34 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  hharpman writes:

  We are not winning this one. 4-2 Minnesota. Game winning goal by Brunette, the AVS killer.
  Play Tjarnquist... on D tonight.

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