Central Division notebook

Before watching the Colorado Avalanche play Tuesday, coach Jared Bednar talked on the phone about being hopeful his players would see how they stuttered their way to a 9-10-1 record and begin the next 10-game segment with a consistent shift-to-shift, period-to-period, 60-minute effort against the Nashville Predators.
"To be around the .500 mark, it's not overly surprising," Bednar told NHL.com, "but the most important thing is that we see growth moving forward."

The Avalanche took a step backward in their 5-3 loss to the Predators at Pepsi Center, and Bednar didn't hold back his criticism after the game. He said he "didn't like" the effort, called it "inconsistent" and felt the Avalanche had "too many passengers."
He criticized his players for allowing the Predators to score the way they scored, saying they didn't have to work hard for their goals, which came off turnovers when Colorado should have had a controlled breakout or plays when the Avalanche simply stopped defending.
"It's too many guys wading into the game and seeing how the game goes," Bednar said after the game. "We need more passion and we need more intensity for 60 minutes. It's that simple."
Bednar's comments illustrate his frustration with a team he is still getting to know, a natural thing considering he wasn't hired to coach the Avalanche until Aug. 25, two weeks after former coach Patrick Roy abruptly resigned.
His comments aren't all that different from what he said on the phone before the game about the Avalanche, who entered play Wednesday tied for 28th in goals for per game (2.24) and tied for 23rd in goals against (2.95).
Bednar said the Avalanche are finding it difficult to strike the balance between trying to be dynamic offensively and trying to be reliable and trustworthy defensively.
"I don't know if every night we're really committed to doing it and working really hard at it and paying attention to those details," Bednar said. "Sometimes it disappears shift to shift and sometimes it's period to period."

He is somewhat surprised at the scoring struggles Colorado has had this season given the talent on the roster, including Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla and Tyson Barrie. He also gave a reason for why the Avalanche have struggled to score.
"A little bit too much individual play for me," Bednar said. "We're not recognizing opportunities where we can possess the puck in the offensive zone. A lot of that starts coming out of our [defensive] zone and making sure we can find ice where we don't always have to put the puck on the boards, where we can use the middle of the ice a little bit more in breakouts and regroups to generate a little bit more speed.
"Teams track and reload so well that if you're constantly working through five guys all the time it's hard to create offense, so our pace of play has to improve, we have to get faster, and some of the things that help you do that is your execution -- delivering the puck to the forwards on time, recognizing where the open outlet is. We're going to constantly preach that and show opportunities where we can use the middle a little bit more and become a quicker team moving through the neutral zone."
Bednar didn't expect this to be easy or for the changes he is trying to implement to have successful results quickly. In many ways he's trying to retrain the Avalanche to think about puck possession and sustaining pressure because for three seasons under Roy they were a one-and-done team in the offensive zone and one of the worst teams in the League at suppressing shots and shot attempts.
Bednar is also still in the process of learning about all of his players and determining where they fit within his systems. He said he watched them on film after he got the job and before training camp, but it didn't tell him much because they were playing in different systems.
For example, he has defenseman Nikita Zadorov and forward Mikko Rantanen playing significant minutes after they played primarily in San Antonio of the American Hockey League last season. Duchene and MacKinnon are killing penalties after not doing so regularly under Roy.
"I'm using them differently than Pat did, so you have to learn it for yourself," Bednar said. "Certainly you can watch and see some areas where you really like a guy, but there is more to it than that. I believe we're getting to the spot now where our guys are getting more comfortable into the way we play. Hopefully that translates into more success for us."
It didn't Tuesday for reasons that seemed to infuriate Bednar. They're not new reasons either, which probably adds to the frustration, but with time Bednar hopes they will be corrected.
"We've got potential," he said. "We're not going to win all of them, but if we come out and skate and compete the way we want to and play within our structure consistently shift to shift, period to period, then we've had some really strong games and felt really good about the way our team has played. We're a little bit hot and cold in those areas and it's costing us some games."

Nashville's new radio star

Predators forward Craig Smith is taking his turn this season co-hosting a radio show Wednesday nights on ESPN 102.5 The Game Nashville with broadcasters Stu Grimson and Willy Daunic. The show is broadcast from Tin Roof, a bar in downtown Nashville.
Smith is getting a kick out of it, to say the least.
"It's a different look at things," he said. "It's neat to see some of the fans that show up there, some of the loyal people. I'm starting to feel like I know the people now because I've seen them so often and [heard] questions from them. It's unique. I haven't heard too much feedback from the outside yet, but I know my old man is listening and I've got to get him a shout out soon. I tell some of my buddies to trade me a little something and I'll throw out a company name. Hey, side business, right."
Though the show is primarily focused on hockey, specifically the Predators, Smith said he's been asked to weigh in on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to not stand for the national anthem. He said he took the high road on that one.

"I'm not selling anything controversial yet," Smith said. "Maybe I have to stir the pot here soon, get some ratings up. Maybe I'll turn it into a fishing show channel. Probably nobody will listen, but it'll be fun for me."
Smith said a friend of his, former NHL player Barry Richter, who, like him, grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, put him in a tough spot on the Nov. 9 show by asking him if he'd be rooting for his hometown Green Bay Packers or the local Tennessee Titans in their game that Sunday.
He, of course, said the Packers, who lost 47-25.
"I couldn't see him in the background and I'm like, 'Oh no,'" Smith said. "Everybody was booing a little bit."
Smith laughs at himself when he talks about his radio experience because he's trying not to take his new gig too seriously. He also jokingly admits there are perils to the job.
"Typically somebody is getting traded after they do this show, so I was a little reluctant," Smith said.
Past players who have co-hosted the show include Jordin Tootoo, Kevin Klein, Darcy Hordichuk and Tom Fitzgerald. All were traded by Nashville. Eric Nystrom co-hosted the show last season. The Predators bought out the final year of his contract after the season.
"I don't know if I'm radio material after hockey," Smith said, laughing again.

Stat pack

The Dallas Stars don't have to search hard for the points they're missing. They are 1-6 in overtime this season. They have scored once on seven shots and allowed six goals on 11 (.545 save percentage). However, center Tyler Seguin is second in the League with 17 assists. He's also minus-9, the lowest plus-minus rating among the top 118 scorers in the League entering Wednesday. … Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien leads the League in ice time per game at 27:48, but he's 30th in shifts per game at 28.5 among players who have played in 20 or more games. Byfuglien leads the League in ice time per shift at 58 seconds. … The top six teams in the Central Division standings are among the top 14 teams in goals scored, with the Chicago Blackhawks first in the division and eighth in the League with 66 goals.

Games to watch

Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 4, 7 p.m. ET; CSN-CH, SN, NHL.TV) -- A chance for revenge for the first-place Blackhawks, who lost 4-0 to the Jets on Nov. 15. Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves for the shutout at MTS Centre.
Colorado Avalanche at Nashville Predators (Dec. 6, 8 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, FS-TN, ALT, NHL.TV) -- A chance for the Avalanche to test themselves again against the Predators after two subpar performances against their division rival. Nashville defeated Colorado 5-1 on Nov. 1 and 5-3 on Tuesday. Both games were in Denver.
Nashville Predators at Dallas Stars (Dec. 8, 8:30 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-SW, NHL.TV) -- Third game of the season and first in Dallas between two division rivals stuck in the middle of the standings. Dallas won 2-1 on Oct. 18; Nashville won 5-2 at Nov. 23.
New York Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks (Dec. 9, 8:30 p.m. ET; NHL Network, CSN-CH, MSG-Plus, NHL.TV) -- First of two games in a five-day span for the Blackhawks against the highest-scoring team in the League. They also play at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 13.
St. Louis Blues at Nashville Predators (Dec. 13, 8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-MW, NHL.TV) -- Third game of the season between the Blues and Predators. Nashville won 3-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 10. St. Louis won 3-1 at Scottrade Center on Nov. 19.