The Colorado Avalanche have seemingly had all the momentum in the world of late. They smacked around their Central Division rival Minnesota Wild to the tune of 6-1 their last time out, leading up to their matchup with the division-leading Winnipeg Jets.
The Avalanche may have squandered some of the momentum they built, dropping a 3-0 decision to the Jets on Saturday night. Sometimes you lose to good teams and there are three takeaways worth discussing from Saturday night’s contest.
Connor Hellebuyck Is So, So Good
Before we get into the Avalanche and their shortcomings in this game, we have to give credit where credit is due. Connor Hellebuyck is a bad, bad man. He stopped all 22 shots against him on the night, picking up his sixth shutout of the season in the process.
His numbers are absolutely ridiculous right now. He leads the NHL in wins (26), goals-against average (2.02), save percentage (.928), and shutouts (six). To give that last number even more context, he has as many shutouts as he does regulation losses this season. It’s January.
Hellebucyk has won a pair of Vezina Trophies as the league’s best goaltender, finishing second (once) and third (once) as well. He is the most consistently dominant goaltender in recent memory and hasn’t lost a step even at age 31. The Jets are contenders so long as Hellebuyck is backing them.
The Power Play Needs to Figure It Out
The Avalanche have figured out a lot since the beginning of the season, but one area of concern is the power play. Given the talent they have – Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, etc. – it is stunning that this has been an issue for so long.
Related: What We’ve Learned About the Colorado Avalanche Past the Halfway Point
They went 0-for-2 on the night against the Jets, underscoring the struggles the Avalanche power play has had over recent weeks. What was once a top-five unit has now slid down to 17th in the NHL at a 21.6% success rate.
At this point, it almost feels like they are in their own head about the power play. The big guns will no doubt find some consistency and start delivering with the man advantage again soon. But for now, it may be a deciding factor in more than a few games if they don’t figure it out.
Casey Mittelstadt’s Struggles Continue to Be an Issue
Casey Mittelstadt’s struggles have also been concerning. After a hot start, Mittelstadt’s production has fallen off a cliff. He has just one assist in his last five games and three points over his last 10 games.
Even worse, he’s not playing well defensively and is perhaps the worst Avalanche center in the faceoff circle. Against the Jets, he was minus-2 and won just under 39% of his draws. That’s going to be a major problem when the competition is tighter and the draws matter more in the playoffs.
Mittelstadt now has eight goals and 26 points in 44 games. Considering he had six goals and 13 points in the first 11 games, that is a huge falloff. He was supposed to be the second-line center that the Avalanche had been missing since Nazem Kadri walked out the door. He needs to find his game again if the Avalanche have a hope of chasing down the Jets for the top spot in the division.
Brush Yourself Off and Get the Next One
The schedule is too tough to let this kind of play persist. It’s impossible to expect the Avalanche to beat everyone in their path but they can’t afford to let this become a streak. They are now in fourth in the Central, two points back of the Dallas Stars and five back of the Wild.
The teams ahead of them are too good to let this kind of play continue. The pieces are in place for the Avalanche to bounce back but they need to tread carefully or things could become too much to overcome as the season hits the stretch.
