"The biggest thing is worrying about ourselves," Pietrangelo said. "We know if we play the way we can, we're going to put ourselves in a good position."
The Avalanche (39-36-4), who have lost three games in a row and five of their past six, remained five points behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with three games remaining, one more than the Wild.
Colorado remained alive for a playoff berth because the Wild lost 5-1 Sunday to the Winnipeg Jets.
"It's disappointing not to come away with two (points) there and gain a little ground," said Avalanche center Matt Duchene, who scored his 30th goal of the season at 15:46 of the third period. "The good news is we're still in it, we have a chance here. We have to regroup and go for it. We're working hard, but we have to be smarter. We're shooting ourselves in the foot too much.