The Colorado Avalanche waited too long to find their game on Monday against one of the NHL’s worst teams in the opening weeks.
The New Jersey Devils never found their crispness in a disappointing showing on Saturday, two days after the most dominant performance to date.
Two teams coming off underwhelming games will face off Tuesday night in Newark, N.J., when the Avalanche meet the Devils.
Colorado scored 14 goals in winning its first two games this season but is 3-3-1 over its past seven and has been held to three goals or less in all four losses. That includes Monday’s 3-2 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers, who began the season with a nine-game winless streak and now are 2-6-3.
Coming off a four-point showing by Nathan MacKinnon in Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Avalanche never led against the Flyers. MacKinnon did not register a point in that game, marking the third time this season he has failed to score.
“Sluggish and sloppy,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said on Monday. “Execution was a big factor for us tonight. The pace we were playing at, it was sloppy. Passes weren’t good. Handling passes wasn’t good. It’s hard to go anywhere when you’re beating the puck up.”
Bednar’s assessment occurred after Colorado finished with 26 shots on goal and had 24 attempts blocked.
MacKinnon was held to one shot on goal, while defenseman Cale Makar did not score on his four shots on goal and was on the ice for two goals.
Martin Necas and T.J. Hughes each scored a goal, but Colorado did not convert on its two power-play opportunities. The Avalanche are 2-for-26 on the man advantage since scoring four power-play goals in their season-opening 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Devils, meanwhile, spent Monday practicing on winning puck battles as they attempt to bounce back from Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the host Washington Capitals. After rolling to a 7-1 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday, the Devils gave up four straight goals.
“I don’t know if we won a puck battle the entire second period,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said Saturday. “Loose pucks around, we didn’t physically get anybody stopped, get in anybody’s way.
Jack Hughes was held off the scoresheet after totaling eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his previous five games.
The Devils have at least 30 shots on goal in each game so far but have allowed at least four goals five times this season.
New Jersey on Tuesday will get Luke Evangelista back from an illness that sidelined him the previous three games. The Devils may be without Anthony Mantha due to an illness, while Cody Glass and Jesper Bratt are expected to play after missing Monday’s practice.
“If we can be as good defensively as we are offensively, that’s going to be the key for us,” Evangelista said. “We got to be hard to play against, hard checking, structured.”
Colorado has won four of the past six meetings between the teams and scored 23 goals in the victories, including five by MacKinnon in those wins.