Avalanche's lead down to 3 points ahead of matchup against Stars, Nathan MacKinnon says 'flow's off'

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DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon can deliver a little bit of everything, including the honest truth.

“One of those nights that just sucked,” the Colorado Avalanche forward told the media Monday after a 7-2 loss to a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that was missing Sidney Crosby.

Colorado, the league's top team for most of the season, has hit a bit of a rough patch. That, coupled with the torrid play of the Dallas Stars, has dramatically tightened things up in the Central Division.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar prefers not to fixate day to day on the standings, which is probably a good thing given the recent developments. The Avalanche, who were 13 points clear of the Stars — 11 over the Minnesota Wild — on Jan. 19, suddenly find themselves ahead by three points going into their game against Dallas on Wednesday night at Ball Arena. The two teams meet again in Dallas on April 4.

“Everything's crucial right now,” center Brock Nelson said. “We just (need) a little bounce-back.”

The Avalanche are still trying to meld everything together following acquisitions before the trade deadline that added centers Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy, along with defensemen Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg. Since the March 6 trade deadline, they're 3-3, including a shootout win at Dallas that night.

“The chemistry matters,” said MacKinnon, who had a goal against Pittsburgh to notch his fourth straight 110-point season. “It’s no one’s fault. It’s just different. New teams, and then a lot of different line combinations lately, for everybody. It’s hard. It sounds like an excuse. (Monday night) was just bad, too. We just played bad."

A rash of injuries has taken a toll as well. Colorado is currently without captain Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Artturi Lehkonen (upper body) and Ross Colton (upper body). Logan O’Connor, who has missed all season after undergoing hip surgery in June, could join the Avalanche on their upcoming four-game trip.

The ailments have caused Bednar to experiment with using 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

“When you have injuries, it’s not easy because you want to make sure you have everyone going as best you can,” Bednar said Tuesday after an optional practice.

MacKinnon told the media the night before that the “flow's off, for sure. A lot of new faces.” He added: "I think lines and D-pairs need to sit down and go through clips and figure out what our system is right now.”

Because, at the moment, he feels like there's too much passing around the perimeter. The Avalanche, who lead the league in goals (246), have been held under 30 shots in their last three games.

“Sometimes winning can mask some stuff," MacKinnon said.

They're also struggling on the power play, scoring 34 goals on 215 opportunities. And they've given up 12 short-handed goals.

“We need everyone on the same page," MacKinnon said. “We need more communication before the game, meetings — really know what we’re going to do over and over again.”

On Monday, the goaltenders struggled, too. Scott Wedgewood, who entered the game as the NHL leader with a 2.16 goals-against average, allowed three goals in 13 minutes before being pulled. Mackenzie Blackwood surrendered four goals after taking over in net.

“The goals and chances that were given up (Monday) are just blatant guys getting beat, guys getting out-competed, just not digging in enough,” Bednar said. “We’re giving up easy chances.”

They have an opportunity to get back on track Wednesday against the Stars, who fell 6-3 at home to Utah on Monday. The regulation loss ended the team's 15-game point streak (14-0-1), which matched the franchise record set by the 1998-99 Stanley Cup champion squad (12-0-3).

“It's a lot like the playoffs right now. You can't let one game affect the next,” Stars captain Jamie Benn said Monday. “We want to get two points against those guys every chance we can get. Looking forward to another big game.”

There's been plenty of big games between these two rivals. The Stars eliminated Colorado in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season. The year before, Dallas knocked off Colorado in six games during the second round.

“(Expectations) are going to be high,” Nelson said. “Both teams will be wanting to send a message.”

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