Avalanche hope to find offense vs. Blackhawks
The youth of the Colorado Avalanche has been a big part of a playoff push but is encountering some speedbumps recently.
A week ago, the Avalanche were in a strong position to make the postseason a year after earning just 48 points, but a sudden stop to the offense has contributed to losing three of four and dropping a point out of the second wild card in the Western Conference with five games left heading into Friday's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Colorado (41-28-8) has scored four regulation goals in the last four games and snuck a win against Vegas in a shootout last Saturday.
"Everybody goes through spurts where you don't score as much as you'd like to," Avalanche right winger Blake Comeau said after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. "When that happens, you have to buckle down defensively."
The goal drought has come at an unfortunate time.
Top goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who has played in 21 straight games, missed Wednesday's game with an illness. His backup, Jonathan Bernier, is dealing with an infection in his left hand from a cut so Andrew Hammond was recalled from the AHL to start against the Flyers.
He gave up two goals in the first period but settled down to make 31 saves in his Avalanche debut.
The good news for Colorado is Varlamov and Bernier may both be available against Chicago. Varlamov worked on the ice Thursday and Bernier said he is ready to go, although coach Jared Bednar said he won't decide on a starter until the morning of the game.
The Avalanche will need both in a tough finish to the season. Three of the last five games are against teams it is now chasing for the two wild card spots -- Anaheim, Los Angeles and St. Louis. The bad news is the only non-playoff team the Avalanche face is Chicago.
The Blackhawks are coping with an unexpected demise from the No. 1 seed in the 2017 Western Conference playoffs to out of the postseason picture that is leaving fans nostalgic for the good days of three Stanley Cup titles from 2010-15.
So, it is not surprising there was plenty of recognition of defenseman Brent Seabrook playing in his 1,000th career game during Thursday night's 6-2 win over Winnipeg.
It is a milestone game at the end of a disappointing year that will not include the postseason for the first time in 10 years. Chicago is firmly entrenched in last place in the Central Division, a spot previously occupied by Friday's opponent, the Colorado Avalanche.
Chicago is infusing young players into the lineup and defenseman Blake Hillman could make his NHL debut soon after signing a two-year deal this week.
In recent years having the Blackhawks on the schedule was a negative, but with major injuries -- center Jonathan Toews is out, as is goaltender Corey Crawford -- and a look at young players, Colorado can earn two vital points Friday night.
The Blackhawks (32-36-10) are looking for some hope that this season is an aberration. But with the core of the team aging, chances are this might be the near future Chicago fans can expect.
"I think next year's team is going to look very similar to this year's team, not identical," general manager Stan Bowman said in February. "We're going to have some changes."
