The Colorado Avalanche opened the season with a tough 4-8 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights, and it was easy to write it off as a fluke game and move on. Then the Avs fell 4-6 to the Columbus Blue Jackets for their home opener at Ball Arena and again to the Islanders in a humiliating 2-6 loss. Next, the Avs hosted the Boston Bruins in what felt like a must-win, but lose again, they did. You can move past one hard loss, but four seems like we need to call Texas because “Houston, we have a problem.”
Yes, the Avs started the season in a deficit without Lehkonen and Nichushkin, and of course Landeskog, but then Drouin exited the lineup with an upper-body injury in the first game, and Toews soon followed. But there are 82 games in the season. Something had to give because you can’t win them all, but you certainly can’t lose them all, either. Right? After four brutal games, it started to feel like we could. However, the Avs clawed their way to their first victory Friday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
After a solid first period where the Avs outshot the Ducks 18-8, they still found themselves down two zip. Both goals were questionable, but it wasn't surprising, given how the season has started. The Avs came out in the second period, once again outshooting Anaheim 17-3, but still were down 2-1. On the plus side, it was the first period where the Avs hadn’t allowed a goal. I should hope not with Anaheim only having three shots in the period. However, the only takeaway from the season thus far is that they could. Yet, the Avs kept fighting and were rewarded with the go-ahead goal halfway through the third. With two back-to-back penalties, the Avs were short-handed for the final minutes of the contest. With Ball Arena on their feet, screaming like it was the playoffs, the Avs allowed the game-tying goal with only 12 seconds on the clock. Yes, 12 seconds, and the Avs were forced into their first OT of the season.
Entering overtime, the Avs outshot the Ducks 44-19, but with OT play three-on-three, anything can happen. It took nearly the entire five-minutes of overtime, but Nathan MacKinnon put one on netminder Lukas Dostal, that trickled in. With cracked voices and shaking hands, the crowd erupted in what felt like we had clinched a playoff series. Alas, it was simply a victory to end a bleak winless streak that we haven’t seen to open a season since 1998.
The Avs went on to face off against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday, and despite taking several penalties, they skated away with a gritty 4-1 victory.
Two wins certainly don’t mean our problems are over; there are still lingering goaltending and defensive questions. We can’t put the blame solely on Georgiev’s shoulders, but when we’ve given up 28 goals in five games, the most in the league, it’s obvious there is an issue. The Avs have signed another goaltender, Kappo Kahkonen from the Winnipeg Jets, and has officially joined the team. With the firepower the Avs bring to the offense, we’re not looking for another Roy between the pipes, but allowing four or more goals is asking an awful lot of the offense.
In addition to unsteady goaltending, there are a plethora of new names on the roster this season, four of which have played their first career NHL game this season. As a fan, it takes time to learn who the hell these guys are, so it’s natural that it takes adjustments from the players as well. Despite their skill, a FNG is still a FNG and can be unpredictable till they get comfortable with the Avalanche system. It’s like starting in a new office; you know how to do the job but still have to ask where the bathroom is.
Despite the rough start, Casey Mittlestadt has scored four goals, and Ross Colton has six goals in six games. This bodes well for the season, as the Avs have needed secondary scoring, which is particularly important when key figures are missing in the lineup.
This is hardly the start to the season we were hoping for, but we have a lot of hockey in front of us. Two wins certainly feel better; one can handle only so many moral victories. What matters is the team we have come the spring, where hopefully, this blip will feel like the Atlanta Thrashers—a distant memory.
