Postgame Wrap-Up: D-Men Deliver, But Avs Still Fall to Jackets

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said prior to the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets that the club's defensive play will lead to more offense.
The Avs' defensemen followed through with that by scoring three times Tuesday night, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Blue Jackets. Columbus took advantage of fortunate bounces and tallied three unanswered markers in the third period to defeat Colorado 6-3 at Pepsi Center.
"I liked our compete. I liked a lot of things that we did, especially for the first two periods," Bednar said afterward. "I wasn't in love with our third period to be honest with you. The first two periods we did some good things, but the goals we're giving up, I don't like them. They're preventable."

Erik Johnson recorded a goal and an assist for Colorado while fellow rear guards Nikita Zadorov and Samuel Girard also found the back of the net in the first 40 minutes of play.
The three markers by Avs defensemen tied a season high for a game, also accomplished on Nov. 21 at the Los Angeles Kings. Patrik Nemeth, Tyson Barrie and Zadorov tallied in that contest, which ended with a 7-1 win for Colorado.
"In terms of scoring goals, that's awesome. We need that, and that is great," said Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog of the defense's production versus Columbus. "As a group, we still made some bonehead mistakes that are uncalled for."
Johnson was the first blueliner among the trio to tally as the puck found its way toward him at the right point at 11:59 of the opening period, and the Minnesota native unleashed a slap shot that knotted the game at 1-1.
Zadorov scored in a similar fashion with 1:23 left before the first intermission, but he took a pass from Nathan MacKinnon at the left point and tied the outing at 2-2 with a one-timer. Zadorov has now registered points in consecutive games and has two goals and one assist in his last seven outings since missing more than three weeks with a lower-body injury.
Johnson assisted on Zadorov's marker for his second multi-point performance of the season and his first since recording three assists on Oct. 6 versus the Philadelphia Flyers, the second contest of 2018-19.
Girard gave Colorado a 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard with 5:54 remaining in the second stanza, tallying his third of the campaign with a wrist shot from the slot. He is one marker shy of tying his goal total from his rookie campaign last season (four).
Despite the Avs gaining their first lead of the evening on Girard's marker, the contest went into the second intermission tied once again as Cam Atkinson scored on a breakaway with 18.9 seconds left in the period. The tying marker came moments after another Avs D-man, Barrie, had a prime scoring chance of his own at the other end of the ice but couldn't convert.
"Probably our best chance of the night, Tyson Barrie walking in all alone and [Sergei] Bobrovsky makes a huge save and they get the breakaway goal against," Bednar said. "We fell asleep there, we got puck watching, Barrie going in all alone, and it turns out to be a big one."
Barrie leads Avalanche defensemen in overall scoring with 39 points, while Johnson (16), Girard (15) and Zadorov (eight) rank second, third and fifth, respectively, in the category.
PRACTICE WITH THE EAGLES: Defenseman Conor Timmins hasn't played all season while recovering from a concussion he sustained at the end of his junior career, and he won't accompany the team on its upcoming three-game East Coast road trip. But the rookie will still get practices in while the Avs are away.
Bednar said that Timmins will head to Loveland while the team is on the road and will practice for a few days with the Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
"He's going to leave tomorrow and go up the road and skate with them while we're gone to give him the team aspect," Bednar said following Tuesday's morning skate. "He's been in and out of contact drills, again making progress, but I don't really have any new updates on that, except for the fact that he's going to head up there for this road trip."
The Eagles have two contests this weekend against the Stockton Heat, but Timmins is only expected to participate in the AHL club's practices during his time in northern Colorado.
The rookie blueliner has been more involved in the Avalanche's on-ice sessions as of late, but he hasn't fully shed the red, non-contact jersey that has been a staple of his all year.
Selected No. 32 overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by Colorado, Timmins' last game came in the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in May.
ON THE ROAD:The Avalanche now goes from its longest homestand of the season to its last East Coast road trip of the campaign.
Colorado's trek out east entails three games in four days, including back-to-back afternoon contests on Saturday at the New York Islanders and Sunday at the Boston Bruins. The trip begins on Thursday at the defending-Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.
"You look at these teams we're playing, they're all really good teams, but we've played good against some of these teams at times this year," Bednar said of the ensuing slate of opponents. "Good teams tend to draw the best out of your group."
The Avs have 14 road games left on their schedule, but ones on the upcoming trip mark the final three to be played in the eastern time zone during the regular season.