Avs Head To California Wanting More

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--The Colorado Avalanche has points in its last three games (2-0-1), but the players are far from satisfied with their recent play.
That is especially the case following the Avs' 3-2 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday night. Colorado tallied first but had to score late in the third period to tie the contest and force overtime.

"Kind of took our foot off the pedal a little bit," said Tyson Jost. "When you're playing a good team like Washington, they're going to respond and they're going to capitalize on those opportunities that you give them."
The Avalanche continues its road heavy schedule this week with three games against the Pacific Division, beginning Sunday at the Anaheim Ducks. The team will play at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday and then at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday in the first half of a back-to-back.
The trip ends a stretch that has Colorado playing 14-of-20 outings on the road (Oct. 9 to Nov. 23).
"I think the last little stretch here, we haven't played our best hockey," said Jost. "We want to regroup here. We had two really good games and then Washington we took a little break there. We want to get back to that against Anaheim and keep that rolling for the Cali and Arizona road trip."
Saturday's team activities began with a video session to discuss the game against the Capitals before the players hit the ice for a 35-minute practice at Family Sports Center.
"Last night for me wasn't all bad. I just think there were large portions of that game where we didn't play to our standard," said head coach Jared Bednar. "We didn't manage the puck enough and put it behind their D and working the forecheck. We didn't have an attack mentality as far as shooting the puck and getting it back and repeating that process."
The only active-roster players that didn't partake in Saturday's on-ice session were Matt Nieto (lower-body injury) and Colin Wilson, who was likely given a maintenance day.
Bednar said he liked the team's attitude for the day as they made final preparations for the road trip.
"I thought our guys were fantastic today. Came with a great attitude to work and get better," Bednar said. "They knew it wasn't going to be long, but there were some things in practice that we wanted to see… That is a good sign for me. We have two wins. We're 2-0-1, points in three straight games here. We should feel good about that. Now we're on the road for three and try and take six more points."
Bednar discussed one lineup note for the team's game at the Ducks, as goaltender Philipp Grubauer will make his second consecutive start in net. He stopped 26 shots against the Capitals.

COMPHER UPDATE

J.T. Compher took part in the entire practice session in a red, non-contact jersey, but he won't travel with the team to California--at least not initially while he's still recovering from a head injury.
"Seems like he's having a good day. He's kind of been up and down, good day, bad day kind of thing," said Bednar. "If he can put a couple good days here together then we might fly him out. Maybe give him two days, maybe fly him out Monday."
Compher has missed 14 games due to the injury, with his last contest coming on Oct. 13 against the Calgary Flames.

QUOTABLES

Center Carl Soderberg on the upcoming road trip:"It's important. We're playing a lot of road games right now, we know that. We don't want to use that as an excuse, but at the same time we know it's going to be tough. If we can get a couple wins on the road, it will be huge."

Center Tyson Jost on the game against the Capitals: "I don't think we're overly satisfied with our game yesterday. I don't think we played a full 60 minutes. That is something we can touch on. We have a chance to respond here against Anaheim, a good team. I thought we played really good the two games before Washington. Those were two really complete games. That's good to see, but we got to keep that consistency throughout our lineup."

Head Coach Jared Bednar on defensive combinations: "We got some D that are playing well. Like I've said, we have the depth at D now. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions."