The Avalanche is going zone instead of man-to-man.

In an effort to cut down on opposing shots against and gain possession of the puck more, Avs coach Patrick Roy has decided to replace his man-to-man defensive system with a more conventional zone approach, starting with Thursday’s game with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Roy will ask his forwards to help out more with the defensemen in puck battles in the Avs’ zone, and Colorado will likely sag closer to the goalie as a five-man defensive unit than previously.

The man-to-man defensive zone coverage hasn’t worked so far, with Colorado off to a 3-6-5 start.

“Like I said this morning, it’s the players’ system, it’s not the coaches’ system,” Roy said. “They need to be be comfortable with the way they play. That’s what we’re going to work on. I think it’s going to simplify a lot of things. There’s going to be more support in our zone. We might not be perfect tonight, but these guys have been playing zone most of their entire careers and I think it’s an adjustment that can be made pretty easy in some ways.”

The Avs will start backup Reto Berra in goal, and defenseman Zach Redmond will replace injured Brad Stuart in the lineup. Roy said Stuart probably will miss two weeks with a hamstring injury.

Forward Jesse Winchester still is not ready to play. Roy said he has “good days and bad days” still, and until he can string at least five good days together, he won’t play.

For Toronto, forward Carton Ashton was suspended for 20 games Thursday for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances program.

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