http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_13647860
No team in the NHL has allowed more shots on goal than the Avalanche. Yet no team had more points entering Monday (October 26, 2009) than the Avs, which says it all about the job goalie Craig Anderson has done.
The Avs know they're going to have to lighten Anderson's workload, however, if they want such a haughty won-loss record down the road.
"We've got to cut down on the shots against," Avs defenseman Brett Clark said. "We've got to get a lot more shots for us. We've got to cut down on some turnovers and just keep things simple and keep the shots to the outside."
The Avs enter tonight's contest at Edmonton allowing an average of 34 shots a game. Anderson has allowed only 26 goals on the 374 shots he's faced through 11 games (2.14 goals-against average, .936 save percentage).
Anderson, who will start tonight, shrugs off questions about his workload, saying "things will average out eventually."
And Avs coach Joe Sacco is not as bothered by the shots-against statistics as one might think. For the most part, Sacco says, his team has done a good job keeping the shots to the outside and from a good distance, where Anderson can have the time and space to stop them.
"(We'd) like to cut down on the number of shots, and as a coach you're always looking for areas to improve," Sacco said. "But if Andy sees the shots from the outside, he's going to stop them. A lot of this is managing the puck and making good decisions through the neutral zone with the puck. If we get it deep and not turn it over, we'll spend more time in their zone and increase our shot total and decrease our shots against."
Some of the shots-against totals have been skewed by some whistle-happy officiating against the Avs, including eight power plays awarded to Detroit on Saturday night. But there have been too many occasions when the Avs have struggled in an area that plagued them a lot last season — getting the puck out of their zone. That has led to too much of the action around Anderson.
"Sometimes we've had a few too many turnovers, and that's led to shots against. We just have to make the simple plays in our end when we have them, and if we stick to our game plan, we'll cut down on them," Clark said.
Avs rookie Matt Duchene said: "That's an area that we'll try and address in the next few games here. No matter how well you're playing, there's always room for improvement. The last few games, as good as Andy has been, a lot of the shots have been from the outside, and I think if you keep teams to the outside, the only chances they can get is to shoot from the outside."
Avalanche's record: 10-1-2
