Avalanche coach
Patrick Roy acknowledges feeling some extra satisfaction now that the team has won four games in a row for the first time since the 2013-14 season and closed to within three points of the second wild card berth in the Western Conference.
But Roy also said this isn't time to feel satisfied, not with a 16-16-1 record heading into Saturday's game against Edmonton at the Pepsi Center.
The thing is, it still isn't possible to predict how this team will play on a nightly basis. And they have plenty of work to do to improve a home record that stands at 5-7-1.
"We are where we are right now," Roy said. "I'm not saying were satisfied, but looking at the circumstance, we're happy with the performance of the team lately. Getting to .500 is something that needed a good run. That's the run we're having right now and hopefully we'll be ready for the Edmonton game as well."
The Avalanche have outscored opponents 11-4 during the winning streak, have won seven of nine games in December and gone 9-4-0 since a 7-3 loss at Washington on Nov. 21 dropped their season record to 7-12-1.
"It wasn't an easy start and it was not easy to make them believe that we were going in the right direction," Roy said. "That was the toughest sell. Many times we said -- and people were probably laughing at us -- we were saying we were heading in the right direction. Now winning those games we've proved it.
"It could have been easy for us as an organization and even as coaches to panic, but we stuck to the program and our structure and just encouraged the players to continue to work hard and to believe in themselves. The road trip was probably a turnaround in our season."
The Avalanche knocked off Central Division members Nashville, St. Louis and Chicago on the trip and opened a four-game homestand Thursday with a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders with both goals coming from
Francois Beauchemin.
It helps that goalie
Semyon Varlamov is playing so well after his poor start, a major factor in the Avalanche's earlier struggles.
"Varly has been phenomenal and we're really feeding off him right now," Roy said.
Varlamov, who made 33 saves against the Islanders, has won five consecutive games and six of his past seven with a shutout in Chicago, a 1.13 goals-against average and .965 save percentage.
"It feels really good," he said. "I hope we're going to continue to do the same things because the guys work really hard right now. Everybody is really focusing and we're battling."
Varlamov credits putting in extra practice time, along with support from Roy, for his revival. But Roy also called him out a while ago, saying Varlamov needed to play a lot better if the Avalanche were going to get back into the playoff picture.
"Hard work, it's all about hard work," Varlamov said. "It doesn't matter how I started. I was struggling, but that's over now. I continued to work hard every day and I also got support from the coaching staff and from this team. Mentally, I feel stronger."
After allowing three or more goals in 11 of his first 14 games, Varlamov has permitted two goals or fewer in seven consecutive games. He's improved his record to 11-8-1 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
"I had my moments when I was not playing as well, but he's playing with a lot of confidence," Roy said. "I think he's still in that learning process, realizing what makes him so successful. For the team it's the same thing. They need to learn what makes us successful and to play with that confidence.
"The way we've been going to the net, the way we've been killing penalties, the way we've been playing defensively and in the neutral zone. All those small details put all together, I think makes our team realize we're capable of putting a streak together."
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