Postgame Wrap-Up: Avs Remain Positive After Loss to Habs

MONTREAL--Three games into its Canada road trip, the Colorado Avalanche has put together three solid performances, but the team still has nothing to show for it in the win column.
Colorado had another chance Saturday night at Bell Centre, but two quick goals in the third period was all the Montreal Canadiens needed in a 3-0 victory.
"It was a tight-checking game, not a whole bunch going on as far as producing scoring chances on either end of it," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar of both clubs' performance. "Each team had a flurry here and there for the first two periods.
"I don't think we were good enough with the puck to create the chances that we needed to win the hockey game. You got to score goals if you're going to win."

The Avalanche held a 22-18 edge in shots on goal at the second intermission, but the contest was still tied at 0-0. Montreal broke through at 8:21 of the final frame as Brett Kulak's shot from the point sneaked through traffic and went off the far post and in during an Avalanche power play.
"I thought it was a pretty even game, right through to the third period, and I thought it was going to come down to whoever scored that first goal," said Colorado defenseman Mark Barberio. "I thought both goalies played really well tonight. That's hockey. We got to find a way out of this because no one is going to feel sorry for us. Dig down and find ways to win hockey games."
Rookie Jesperi Kotkaniemi extended the Habs' advantage to two just 2:18 later. Jordie Benn finished the scoring with an empty-net marker with 1:16 remaining.
"We get running around, extended shift, Montreal keeps it in our zone," Bednar said of the Canadiens' second marker. "Probably their best shift of the game, and not so much on our side of it. I think there was a little bit of disappointment there from our guys [after the first goal against], maybe hanging their heads for a couple seconds, and next thing you know Montreal turns it on and they get the second one."
Despite another outcome not in their favor, the Avs are still positive about the process moving forward.
"I think everyone in here is still confident in what we can accomplish, and that's good," said defenseman Ian Cole. "As long as we stay together and continue to move in the right direction, hopefully we can work our way out. Hopefully as the season goes on, we'll be better for it."
With that said, the Avalanche players know they need to start getting results, no matter how well or not the team plays.
"Like Bedsy has said for a while now, there are no moral victories here just because we play well, give up a few chances, create a few chances. Winning hockey games is what matters in this league," said Cole. "Not playing well and losing. We'll have to figure out a way to score some goals and obviously keep some goals out of our net."
Colorado has two more games to do that on its season-long road trip. The team plays at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday before facing the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
BARBERIO, WILSON RETURN:Defenseman Mark Barberio and forward Colin Wilson were back in Colorado's lineup after both skaters missed time with lower-body injuries.
Barberio had been out for six weeks since getting hurt on Nov. 28 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Wilson missed eight contest since sustaining his ailment on Dec. 21 versus the Chicago Blackhawks.
The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Barberio, as Montreal is his hometown and he played for the Canadiens prior to joining the Avalanche.
Barberio skated 15:40 while being paired on the backend with rookie Ryan Graves. He had a season-high four blocked shots.
"It takes maybe a couple shifts to get back into it," Barberio said postgame. "As much as you try to work as hard as you can in practice and all that, it's hard to mimic game action and game speed."
Wilson started the contest on Colorado's fourth line with Sheldon Dries and Sven Andrighetto, but the forward floated around on other combinations throughout the night as well. Wilson had two shots in 9:48 of ice time.
NEMETH SICK:Defenseman Patrik Nemeth missed his first game in nearly two months as he was dealing with a minor illness.
Nemeth had played in 39 of the Avs' previous 44 contests and has five points (a goal and four assists) this year. The last game he didn't play in was Nov. 14 against Boston when he was a healthy scratch.
The blueliner wasn't on the ice for practice on Friday or at morning skate on Saturday, but he could be available for Monday's game at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
BIG Z ON THE ROAD: Nikita Zadorov joined the Avs' road trip in Montreal, taking part in the club's morning skate. The defenseman had spent the previous week back in Denver skating on his own and working with the club's trainers to recover from a lower-body injury.
"Zadorov joined our team today and he is back on the ice, which provided our team a little spark this morning," head coach Jared Bednar said. "It's good to see him back with the team. He's obviously getting close too."
The blueliner has missed the last 10 games with the ailment. He last played in Colorado's previous matchup versus the Canadiens on Dec. 19.
MORE NOTES: Ian Cole finished with a season-high five hits, passing his previous best of four that he had accomplished three times (last: Dec. 31 vs. Los Angeles).
Alexander Kerfoot matched a season high with four shots (also: Oct. 6, 2018 vs. Philadelphia).
Four Avs players' point streaks came to an end on Saturday night. Nathan MacKinnon had an eight-game run (five goals, six assists), while Erik Johnson (one goal, two assists), Gabriel Landeskog (three goals, three assists) and Mikko Rantanen (three goals, three assists) all had three-gamers come to a close.