Penguins waddle their way through sluggish stretch

DENVER (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the season aiming for a Stanley Cup title. Now they’re searching for answers.

David Jones had two goals and an assist, Andrew Raycroft made 21 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Saturday, handing the Penguins their seventh loss in eight games.

“It is tough. We’ve got to hang in there and keep our heads up and make sure we’re working hard,” Pittsburgh coach Michael Therrien said. “Eventually, if we get the right approach we’ll get out of this.”

The Penguins haven’t won since beating New Jersey on Dec. 26, and Therrien was dismissive when asked if his team’s struggles might cost him his job.

“Why? I don’t worry about that,” he said.

Jordan Staal, who had a short-handed goal, said coaching isn’t the problem.

“Guys want to play for him, it’s just a matter of winning games,” he said.

The Penguins reached the Stanley Cup finals last year before losing to Detroit in six games. They started this season strong, going 15-6-4, but they are 5-13 over the past five weeks.

“The things that allow you to win don’t change based on the month,” said captain Sidney Crosby, who had a goal and an assist. “It’s the same things it took in October and November as now.”

Crosby said teams are gunning for them after last year’s success.

“You have to be prepared, especially after the season we had last year, for teams to get up for those games,” he said. “It’s no secret when we play teams it brings out the best in them.”

Count Colorado among the teams excited to play against Pittsburgh, especially Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

“They’re two players that we don’t see a whole lot of,” Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. “To see them live, they are as good as their reputation. They are exciting, no question about it.”

Ryan Smyth and Wojtek Wolski each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who have won three straight.

Wolski broke a 2-all tie when he skated into the Pittsburgh zone, took a pass from Smyth and beat goalie Dany Sabourin over the left shoulder for his 11th goal of the season midway through the second period.

Four minutes later, Jordan Leopold scored on a slap shot from the blue line to give Colorado a 4-2 lead.

Staal made it interesting with his 13th goal with 12:23 left, but Jones gave the Avalanche some breathing room with his eighth goal 51 seconds later.

Sabourin had 21 saves on 25 shots before being pulled in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury to start the third. Fleury stopped six shots.