No team in the NHL is going to win much when five of the top nine or 10 players on the roster are unavailable. For the Colorado Avalanche, that’s just the state of things right now. But the issues for the Avs during an 0-3 start, particularly in an ugly 6-2 loss Monday night to the New York Islanders, go beyond just missing some very good players. It’s a pretty simple message: Focus on the process and clean up the areas that the healthy players can control. “I think we recognize what we have to improve on,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “We played good enough in games one and two to sort of try and replicate that. Then, for whatever reason, we deviated from our entire game plan and you saw the result (against the Islanders). It wasn’t pretty for us.  “We know the aspects of the game that we have to focus on.” Most of those aspects involve the part of the game where Colorado does not have the puck. It’s still an incredibly small sample size, but the volume of what the Avs are yielding to the other team has not been the issue. It’s the quality. The Avs entered their game Wednesday night against Boston ranked 10th in the NHL in scoring chances against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, and in the top five in shot attempts allowed per 60. High-danger scoring chances are another matter: Colorado is 19th. Given the troubles the goaltenders have had, and the missing players, the margin for error is very slim. Allowing too many Grade-A chances is a recipe for disaster, as the Avalanche has found out. “Defensively, we’re giving up too many rush chances, too soft in front of our net,” O’Connor said. “I think it’s just stick to the habits that have given us success in the past, the execution and the competitiveness. That’s an area we probably lacked in last was our competitive urgency, especially in the defensive zone. “Giving guys too much time and space, not playing hard enough at our net front — I think those are areas that if we clean those areas up within our structure, we should be able to have success. We have been pretty good offensively with generating chances, but we’re giving up way too much.” The Avalanche began this season without Gabe Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen, three forwards who are all dynamic offensive players. Colorado lost Jonathan Drouin after the first game, and defenseman Devon Toews is set to miss his second straight contest against the Bruins. While those are all strong offensive players, the Avs have not felt their absence with the puck nearly as much as they have without it. All of the offensive numbers, traditional or advanced, have been strong. But those four forwards are also all strong two-way players. They make a significant impact without the puck as well. That’s the part of their games that Colorado appears to be missing the most so far this season. “They’re very trusted, highly reliable, good-to-great defensive players,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “But, the message is … realistically, checking and playing away from the puck — yeah, there’s skill and ability involved in that, but it’s hard work and commitment. Those are two (things) that we keep bringing up.  Bednar thought Toews could be a possibility to play Wednesday night, but he remains out with a lower-body injury. There isn’t a timeline for any of the four forwards right now, though Lehkonen could return early next month if the checkup on his surgically repaired shoulder at the end of this month goes well. Nichushkin can’t return until mid-November at the earliest, but he’ll likely need time after being reinstated to get up to game speed. Related Articles Colorado Avalanche | Veteran NHL goalie on Avalanche’s Alexandar Georgiev: “He just seems a little unsettled” Colorado Avalanche | Patrick Roy, Islanders suffocate mistake-prone Avalanche, send Colorado to 0-3 start Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews out against Islanders with lower-body injury Colorado Avalanche | Patrick Roy returns to Colorado a different coach, but with fond memories: “I always have the Avs in my heart” Colorado Avalanche | Avalanche skaters, coaches focus on process despite poor goaltending, results Avs GM Chris MacFarland said before the season began that he doesn’t want his team to wait for the cavalry to return. The number of key missing players has grown since. It’s going to be on the players who are in the lineup to sort out the defensive issues and at least get back to having a strong process, let alone improving the results. “Right now, it’s about us, with some of the things we have to do to have success,” Bednar said. “(Playing the Bruins) is just another opportunity for us to get our game in order and back on track.” Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.