COLORADO FOLLOWS FOE’S BLUEPRINT
The Columbus Blue Jackets are what the Avalanche is striving to become. Columbus, the NHL’s second-youngest team, built itself through youth, and Colorado, the league’s third-youngest team, is doing the same.
But make no mistake, the Blue Jackets already are a Stanley Cup-contending team, and the Avs, who finished last in what was a 30-team league last season, still have much to do to prove they are playoff worthy.
Columbus posted 50 wins and 108 points last season before losing a first-round playoff series against Pittsburgh in five games. The Penguins went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
“You can look at a handful teams around the league that started a rebuild process, got young and started to take steps,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when asked about the Blue Jackets. “There’s a couple different groups of teams that we look at and say, ‘You know, we want to make sure our team is progressing too.’ ”
Hammond update.
Andrew Hammond, the veteran goalie acquired from Ottawa in the Matt Duchene trade, made his second long trek to Colorado late Wednesday after being recalled by the Avs to back up Jonathan Bernier for the next two games or more.
Semyon Varlamov is day to day with a lower-body injury but isn’t expected to return to the lineup until after the Avs’ weeklong break, which starts Sunday.
Hammond, 29, is still playing for Ottawa’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Belleview (Ontario) Senators. Hammond, a.k.a. The Hammburglar for his ability to steal games with his performance, is 7-6-2 with a 3.44 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in the minors.
He is sharing goaltending duties with Ottawa prospect Danny Taylor. The Avs prefer to loan Hammond to the Senators because Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, is a shared venture with the St. Louis Blues, thus requiring both teams’ top goalie prospect a spot on the team. The Avs’ No. 3 goalie is the Rampage’s Spencer Martin, who splits time with the Blues’ Ville Husso.
Footnote. Rookie defenseman Andrei Mironov was the Avalanche’s only healthy scratch Thursday. Forwards J.T. Compher (upper-body injury) and Sven Andrighetto (lower body) remain unavailable, along with defenseman Tyson Barrie (hand).