The Colorado Avalanche have been up and down lately. They lost to the St. Louis Blues a couple of games ago, then followed it up with a dominant offensive performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The lack of consistency has been somewhat frustrating.
The Avalanche find themselves in something of a “no man’s land” situation. They came into the final game of the season series against the Blues six points back of the Dallas Stars for second in the Atlantic Division, and it feels virtually impossible to catch them. Losing yet again to the Blues doesn’t help anything, either. Let’s get into the takeaways from this 5-4 loss to the Blues.
Avalanche Banged Up
It’s hard to ignore what the Avalanche are facing in terms of their lineup right now. Coming into this game with the Blues, the Avalanche knew they would be missing the services of defensemen Samuel Girard and Josh Manson, as well as forwards Martin Necas and Jonathan Drouin.
This has been one of the most challenging scenarios in recent memory for the Avalanche. Injuries have been a major part of the lineup, and it seems like they get healthy only to see several key pieces missing from the lineup again.
These seem to be all short-term injuries, and the positive progression of Gabriel Landeskog is something to hang onto. Hopefully, this team can find a way to stay together and healthy enough to make an extended run, but it feels like that’s a lot to ask at this stage.
Avalanche Showed Fight
Knowing for some time that they have been heading for a first-round battle with the Stars, the Avalanche have recently felt like they have been in neutral. That lack of passion and drive has been evident in a number of games lately.
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In this game against the Blues, the Avalanche looked like they would be buried. By the midway point of the second period, the Blues held a 4-0 lead, and it seemed like there was nothing left to play for.
The Avalanche woke up, however, battling back to make it 4-3 when Nathan MacKinnon scored his 32nd late in the third period. It was, unfortunately, too little too late, and Robert Thomas sealed the deal with an empty-net goal just under two minutes later. Still, it was nice to see the Avalanche show a little fight and not just pack it in when facing such a deficit.
The Blues Are Absolutely Ridiculous Right Now
What can’t be lost right now is how absolutely ridiculous the Blues have been lately. They are, hands down, the hottest team in the NHL, and this win against the Avalanche makes it a franchise-record 12 straight for the Blues.
Though it could be argued that they haven’t exactly played the cream of the crop so far – the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators (three times), Vancouver Canucks, and Pittsburgh Penguins – you can’t hate on a team for getting the job done.
If there were more than four games left in the season, the Avalanche would be very concerned about being overtaken. As it stands, the Blues are five points back with four games remaining, but no one wants to play the Blues right now.
Just Get to the Playoffs
At this point in the season, it feels like the Avalanche are just kind of staying afloat until the playoffs begin. On paper, they have everything that a legitimate contender needs to win it all, but their play has been uninspiring of late.
The goal right now should be getting healthy and finding a little momentum. The solace to their recent play is that MacKinnon and Cale Makar have made pushes that should land them individual hardware when the season ends. The playoffs could not come quick enough for the Avalanche at this stage.
