Needing some much-needed R&R, the Avalanche won’t get back on the ice again until Tuesday following stretches where they played three games in four nights and seven games in 12 nights, five games on the road.

In what has been a road heavy schedule, the Avalanche played seven of the first 12 games away from the Pepsi Center. They went 7-3-2 in October and will play four of the next five games on the road, resuming play Thursday in Calgary, followed by a visit to Vancouver on Friday.

The next home game is Nov. 7 against Nashville, after which they’ll go back to Canada for games in Winnipeg and Edmonton.

*****

The Avalanche ended the month with a bizarre 3-2 loss Saturday in Minnesota.

Trailing 2-1 with 2:49 left in the third period, the Avalanche went on a power play with a chance to tie matters, get to overtime and earn at least a point.

But coach Jared Bednar elected to immediately pull goalie Semyon Varlamov for a 6-on-4 advantage. The Avalanche predictably lost the ensuing faceoff – Bednar later said Alexander Kerfoot should’ve drawn an interference penalty – the Wild gained possession and defenseman Jonas Brodin fired the puck 200 feet into the vacated net to make it 3-1.

It was a free play for Brodin, since he could have missed the net without worrying about icing while killing the penalty.

Gabriel Landeskog made it 3-2 with 41.1 seconds left, so Brodin’s shorthanded, empty-net goal stood as the winner.

Bednar said after the game he gambled by pulling Varlamov because the power play struggled throughout. The Avalanche squandered an early 5-on-3 advantage and finished 0-for-6 on power plays.

The Wild took a 2-1 lead halfway through the third on Eric Staal’s power-play goal after 6-feet-6 Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov was penalized for high-sticking 5-11 Jason Zucker in front of the benches. Zadorov didn’t do much more than push against Zucker; it was a terrible call.

*****

Forward Tyson Jost missed the game with a head injury he sustained Friday against Ottawa … Center J.T. Compher hasn’t played since he sustained a head injury Oct. 13 against Calgary.

Defenseman Mark Barberio had the other Avalanche goal ... Landeskog has a team-leading 10 goals, an Avalanche record for October. He has nine goals in the past seven games … Mikko Rantanen set up the goal for his 16th assist, tying the Colorado records for assists and points (21) in October set by Joe Sakic in 1996.




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