PHILADELPHIA — Jarome Iginla is well aware he is 37 years old, and he also is aware that media storylines often focus on whether time is passing by players when their numbers start dropping. While nobody expects Iginla to be the 50-goal scorer he was of yesteryear, the two goals he has scored this season for the Avalanche looks a bit more conspicuous by the game.

Iginla knows his scoring output — on pace for about 10 goals for the season — isn’t where it should be for a player getting top-six minutes. But he does not think age has suddenly caught up with him.

“My legs feel fine. I don’t feel any different than last year, the year before,” Iginla said after practice Monday at the Class of 1923 Arena on the University of Pennsylvania campus. “Physically, I feel great. I have no excuses. We need to string wins together. It’s a team, but the first thing you do is look at yourself, and I need to find more ways to produce.”

Iginla has two goals and nine points through his first 16 games. He has been a yearly model of scoring consistency since entering the league in 1996-97, scoring 20 or more goals in 15 of his 17 seasons. That includes a 48-game lockout-shortened season in 2012-13. He has not failed to score 30 goals in a full season since 1999-2000, when he scored 29.

When asked why he thinks he’s gotten off to one of the slowest starts of his career, Iginla indicated it is more mental with him right now than physical.

“Sometimes, I get watching the play and thinking too much, and then I stop moving,” said Iginla, 23rd on the all-time NHL list with 562 goals. “I need to get moving and doing a little less thinking. You always want to be thinking, but I need to do more moving, be physical, be intense, be good along the wall and in front of the net.”

Avs coach Patrick Roy reiterated his faith that Iginla will get things going, especially playing on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog.

“It’s a team thing right now. It’s not just Jarome,” Roy said. “Everybody could do more offensively. Right now, I’m very happy with our third line and I’m very happy with our fourth line. Have our first and second lines produced as much as I wish? I’d be a liar if I said yes. We all see the stats. But they’re going to play together and we’re going to be patient with them, to get used to each other. I think Jarome is going to be a great fit for Landy and Mack, and they’re going to get their confidence back to where it should be.”

Iginla believes his line will be better once the players gain more of a feel for each other and their tendencies.

“Playing with Landy and Mack — Mack has great speed off the rush and Landy skates well too, so off the rush is always going to be a danger,” he said. “But I think zone possession and cycling and out-competing guys, taking it to the net — I think that’s where we can do more damage. A couple games ago, against Toronto, we had some great looks and I did, too, hitting some posts and things like that. We just need more of that. I’ve been through this before. We just need more games where we get those opportunities. That’s the goal, the kind of game like against Toronto, where we get more hits and more time down low around the net.”

Adrian Dater: adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater

COLORADO AT N.Y. ISLANDERS

5 p.m. Tuesday, ALT; 950 AM

Spotlight on Brock Nelson: The 30th selection in the 2010 NHL draft is off to a strong start this season for the Islanders. Nelson’s 14 points rank second on the team, behind star center John Tavares, and the Islanders are playing well. Nelson played college hockey at North Dakota and spent a couple of years in the minor leagues before sticking for good last season with the Islanders.

NOTEBOOK

Avalanche: Semyon Varlamov will get the start in goal after sitting the past two games. He shut out the Islanders at the Pepsi Center last month. … There were no changes to the lines or defensive pairings at practice Monday. … The Avs held on to win a game at the Nassau Coliseum last season, their final game before the Olympic break. … The Avs have improved on faceoffs, rising to 48.5 percent after being in the lower 40s not long ago.

Islanders: New York has the NHL’s ninth-best percentage on the power play (.219). But the team’s penalty killing hasn’t been nearly as good, entering Monday ranked 29th in the league at 71.1 percent. … The Islanders are 27th in the league on faceoffs (47.1 percent), 13th in shots against per game (averaging 29.2) and fourth in shots taken per game (31.6). … Jaroslav Halak is expected to get the start in goal.



Adrian Dater, The Denver Post