Landeskog confident Avalanche can regain form

SAN JOSE -- In a season in which some teams have reached far higher in the standings than predicted - the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks - the most surprising placement might just be the Colorado Avalanche. And that's not to outsiders. That's to the Avalanche themselves.

"It's mind-blowing for us how we're still in the position that we're in," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said on Thursday at NHL All-Star Game Media Day presented by adidas. "Not having played any really good hockey from Dec. 1 on]."
On Dec. 7, Colorado looked like a lock for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, sitting tied for first in the Central Division with the Nashville Predators with 39 points.
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But in the seven weeks since, the Avalanche have gone 5-13-3 and are tenuously holding onto the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They're tied with the Canucks with 52 points but have played one fewer game.
"As a team and as myself, I'm thinking it's a kind of miracle that we're still sitting in the second wild card spot and we've won not a lot of games in the last 25 games or so," forward Mikko Rantanen said.
It's been one thing after another. One problem one night, another the next.
It has been baffling and frustrating and inexplicable. Especially given where the Avalanche started the season, with the firepower they have in perhaps the best line in the NHL of all-stars Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Rantanen.
"It feels like you're patching one hole and another pops up," Landeskog said. "One day, special teams, the other day it's turnovers, another day it's goaltending or whatever it might be. But we haven't seemed to find a consistent level."
They have righted themselves for a game here, a game there, but not consistently. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 last week, and followed that up with a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
"It's hard to put a finger on it, really, and know what the answer is," Landeskog said.
Part of the problem, though, is easy to calculate.
Since Dec. 7, Colorado has the worst penalty kill in the NHL at 71 percent. Among goalies with at least 10 games played, Semyon Varlamov (12 starts) is 36th out of 38 with a 3.49 goals-against average and 37th in save percentage at .877. And Philipp Grubauer has been even worse. In 11 games (nine starts) he is last in both categories with a 3.87 GAA and .870 save percentage. In total, the Avalanche have allowed at least four goals in 12 of those 21 games.
They know this can't continue. Not if they want to stick in a wild card spot, or even move up in the division. Not if they want to make the playoffs.
There are lessons that the Avalanche have learned in past seasons, especially in 2016-2017, when they finished last in the NHL with 48 points, 21 behind the second-to-last team, the Canucks. They bounced back last season, earning a surprising playoff spot and learning about themselves and what they need to do to push through adversity.
Asked if those lessons were coming in handy now, Landeskog said, "I would have liked to say yes, but obviously we haven't gotten out of this little funk that we're in or the slump that we're going through right now. But we're going to find a way through this and I'm very optimistic about the group that we have and about the team that we have.
"I think it's important for everybody to look at themselves in the mirror and realize what you do as an individual and what you can do to be better as an individual will help the team. That's self-explanatory, but I think all those tough times going through [2016-17], all those tough years, having that thought in the back of your mind I think definitely motivates you."
And yet, motivated or not, the team is still searching for answers. Still trying to figure out what it needs to do and what it can do. Still trying to get a handle on what has happened to them over the past seven weeks.
It's why Colorado was happy to see the arrival of its break, which began after yet another loss, this time to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. With the mandatory five-day break after the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend, the Avalanche won't play again until Feb. 2, a stretch that, they hope, will allow them to right themselves and their season. To right their minds.
"I think this break is good for the team right now," Rantanen said. "Get out from the hockey, go spend time with your family and friends, then come back with the juice we need to get into playoffs for the last 30 games we have left. We have to take another step and get out of this slump."
They believe they will. They need to believe.
"We're going to find a way through this," Landeskog said. "I have no doubt about it. It's a matter of just coming through as a group and figuring out a way to get going right now. We've just got to stop the bleeding and get going."