3 Takeaways From the Avalanche’s 2-1 Game 4 Loss to the Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche have a lot of finger-pointing to do in the wake of three consecutive losses to the Vegas Golden Knights. The adversity has perhaps never been higher for the Avalanche, walking into a deficit with superstar Nathan MacKinnon hampered by an injury.

Unfortunately, the Avalanche did not respond with their backs to the wall. Instead, they made a late push but ultimately fell short once again. The Golden Knights completed the sweep and the curse of the Presidents Trophy claims another victim.

Out with a Whimper

It’s one thing to go down swinging, simply outpunched by a better fighter. But to go out the way the Avalanche did has to leave a lot of questions. The Golden Knights were the stronger, more aggressive team throughout the series and that was once again the case in Game 4.

To fully illustrate: there was a stretch where the Avalanche didn’t have a shot for more than 22 minutes. When you’re on the verge of elimination, that simply can’t happen. Anyone watching with no context of the series wouldn’t know that the Avalanche had one foot out the door already.

It is a truly disappointing performance in a series of disappointing performances. It will be hard to narrow down this playoff defeat to one or two characters – looking at you, Martin Necas – but the team as a whole just didn’t seem to have much fight left by the end.

Too Little, Too Late from Brock Nelson

One guy who could easily have a finger pointed at him was Brock Nelson. Given that he had zero points in the four games and just two goals in 13 playoff games, that finger could still easily be pointed in his direction.

That said, Nelson had perhaps his best game of the playoffs in Game 4. He had two premium chances but just couldn’t solve Vegas’ Carter Hart. Goaltending was a difference in this one because the game may have looked a bit different if Nelson could have cashed in.

This was easily the worst playoff performance of the veteran center’s career. He didn’t have a goal in seven playoff games last season but at least played well defensively and chipped in four assists. He was completely absent at both ends of the ice this season when the Avalanche were leaning on him.

Injuries, Adversity too Much

The Avalanche were going through it by the end of this series. MacKinnon hurt his leg in Game 3 and clearly lacked that extra gear in Game 4. We all know about the upper-body injuries Cale Makar has dealt with that kept him out of the first two games of the series.

In the end, this had the same feel as a heavyweight fighter not knowing how to respond after getting tagged. The Avalanche had steamrolled through the competition all season long and the Minnesota Wild series was supposed to be their heavyweight bout. They coasted through it and weren’t ever really challenged.

Everything just became too much to handle. The injuries, falling behind early, the lack of production from key figures like Necas and Nelson. It was just too much for them to overcome when all was said and done.

What Now?

Jared Bednar’s future as head coach may be in question as this is the biggest failure in recent Avalanche history. Most of the roster will be back but there are going to be some difficult decisions made this summer that will make the team weaker.

The Golden Knights are a fantastic team with a winning pedigree, but this is nothing short of a massive disappointment for the Avalanche. They will be on the shortlist of contenders again next season, but this is one that will sting for a long time.