Adam Foote isn't enjoying being in virgin territory, being in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time while wearing an Avalanche uniform.

This hardly is what the 37-year-old defenseman envisioned when he returned to Colorado at the NHL trading deadline last season after missing the playoffs two years in a row with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"You just try and keep it positive," Foote said. "When this happens, you feel all alone as a group. You have to try and stay strong. This reveals character, it really does."

It doesn't get any easier tonight for the Avalanche, which sits 15th in the Western Conference and will face New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur at the Prudential Center.

"I'll be in," Brodeur told reporters Wednesday.

Brodeur, who needs eight wins to break Patrick Roy's league record of 551, will play for the first time since Nov. 1, when he tore a tendon in his biceps.

"I feel good," Brodeur said. "I feel like I haven't lost much out there practicing and moving around, feeling the puck and controlling my rebounds. Now it's just a question of seeing game action. I'm sure that will take a bit for me to get used to."

Foote is more concerned with getting the Avalanche back on track and keeping the atmosphere as upbeat as possible.

"You have to be there for each other, be there for the young guys and keep going, keep trying to do the little things right," he said. "That's the only way we're going to put (wins) together."

The Avalanche won three consecutive games after Foote returned from a torn triceps but has lost two in a row to Carolina and Atlanta.

"I wouldn't say it's depressing," Foote said. "My own game, I just have to try and not overdo it. Keep going, keep plugging away."