Adam Foote’s time playing for the Colorado Avalanche was filled with success. He’s not having the same experience in his first season as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
Foote, who won two Stanley Cups and reached six conference finals with Colorado, brings his scuffling Vancouver squad to Denver to face the Avalanche on Tuesday night.
The Canucks have lost five of their last six and are 2-5-3 in their last 10 games heading into a matchup with the best team in the NHL.
Vancouver’s goaltending has been somewhat chaotic over the last week. Kevin Lankinen was away from the team for personal reasons before returning to the net in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss at Los Angeles, Thatcher Demko has been out for three weeks with a lower-body injury and isn’t on the current road trip and Nikita Tolopilo is away from the team to be with his wife, who was giving birth to the couple’s first child.
“Tolo’s done a great job for us,” Foote said Sunday of the 25-year-old goalie. “Demko has been skating every day at home. (Sunday) he had his first day off in a while and things look good.”
The slow start to the season has rumors circulating that the Canucks could trade unrestricted free agents Kiefer Sherwood, Evander Kane, David Kampf, Teddy Blueger or Derek Forbort. Sherwood leads the Canucks with 12 goals; veteran Kane has five goals and nine assists in his first season in Vancouver.
Colorado has been playing well while second-line winger Valeri Nichushkin has been on the injured list, but he was a full participant in Monday’s practice and may return to the lineup against the Canucks. Nichushkin hasn’t played since Nov. 11 due to a lower-body injury.
If he does return, it bolsters an already potent lineup, led by Nathan MacKinnon, whose 44 points (20 goals, 24 assists) tops the NHL scoring list. His linemate, Martin Necas, is second on the Avalanche in scoring with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) and Cale Makar is third with 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists). Makar leads all NHL defensemen in scoring.
Brock Nelson has tallied 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) but he has begun to find some success. He had just four points in 12 games in October but has come on in November; he ended the month with a four-point effort in a win over Montreal on Saturday (two goals, two assists).
“The last couple of games and the last couple of weeks I feel like we’ve done a better job of getting more attacks, more shots and being a bit more dangerous,” he said.
Saturday’s 7-2 rout completed an 11-win month for Colorado and kept it unbeaten in regulation at home (10-0-2). The Avalanche, who have just one regulation loss in 25 games, have won their last eight home games and are averaging more than five goals in those games. They have netted at least six goals on four occasions.
