After what was a pretty good month for the Avs, they still found themselves slipping in the standings, with the teams around them also playing well at present. On the plus side, the Avs have played fewer games than any other team in their division thus far, and fewer than most teams in the NHL.
If the season ended today, the Avs would just barely be clinging to the second Wild Card spot.
It was a more injury-marred month for the team and just after we talked up
Ty Moyers at the end of December he went down with a serious shoulder impingement on January 1st and is just now recovering and should be playing again soon. This was the most serious of a series of injuries that sidelined several players, mostly forwards, including veteran LW
Brian Hughes, young star RW
Matthew Watts, and LW
Austin Foreman, who is currently on the Injured List and not expected back for another week or two.
Travis LaFreniere continues to show why he was the top prospect in the NHL just a few years ago:
Not that I think it has any real significance, but our AHL affiliate, as you can see above, is killing it this year.