Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse for the Colorado Avalanche in the wake of a 5-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, they somehow did. Injuries continued to pile up and the Avalanche had the task of taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
Things quickly got out of hand, as the Lightning jumped out to a 3-0 lead within the first 5:32 of the game. It was too much for the Avalanche to overcome, another 5-2 loss. Let’s get into the most important takeaways from this one.
This Is an Uphill Battle Too Steep to Fight
On Tuesday, the Avalanche received a double whammy in a season already mired by injuries. It was announced that Miles Wood would be out 7-10 days with an upper-body injury that he’s been trying to battle through but no longer can’t. Almost immediately, it was learned that Ross Colton would be out 6-8 weeks in the wake of a foot injury.
The Avalanche are now missing six of their top nine forwards. That’s too much to ask of any team and the roster left over is asked to keep the ship afloat when there are new leaks springing up from everywhere. That’s not even mentioning the issues in net, which saw Kaapo Kahkonen called up to make his first start with the Avalanche.
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We kind of lost sight of the challenges facing the Avalanche during their five-game winning streak, but now they are too great to ignore. The schedule is going to be tough – the Nashville Predators (twice), Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars, and Lightning all await the Avalanche over their next 13 games. It’s going to be tough sledding, to say the least.
Nikita Kucherov Is Ridiculously Good
While it is easy to focus on the struggles the Avalanche are facing, it can be quite easy to remember that Nikita Kucherov is a baaaaaaad man. He wasted no time showing that in the first period, quickly getting the Lightning into a dominant position from which they would never look back.
He fired a one-timer into the back of the net just 1:01 into the game for his ninth of the season, good for second-best in the NHL. If that weren’t enough, he made an absolutely ridiculous pass to set up Jake Guentzel for his third just 2:35 later. It was so good that even Guentzel had to shake his head.
Kucherov finished the night with a goal and two assists, moving him into a tie for fifth in the NHL with 17 points to start the season. He’s on roughly the same pace as a season ago when he registered 100 assists and 144 points. The man does what he wants when he wants on the ice.
The Stars Continue to Shine
Looking at the bright side of things, the duo of Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon continue to shine. Makar became the second defenseman in NHL history to begin the season with a point in at least 11 consecutive games, joining Bobby Orr. MacKinnon, meanwhile, added a pair of assists to extend his own point streak to 11.
Makar joined Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights for the league lead in points with 19; MacKinnon is tied with Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild for second with 18 points. Both are off to an unreal start, Makar’s a bit more impressive when you remember that he’s actually a defenseman and not one of the best forwards in the NHL.
These two have been carrying the Avalanche in every way. It’s a bit sad to see such gargantuan efforts wasted when the team is so decimated. If the duo can help the Avalanche weather the injury story and find their way into the playoffs, both will have a great case for MVP.
Hanging on for Dear Life
At this stage, it’s merely about survival for the Avalanche. No team can expect to play consistently well when six of their top nine forwards are out. Just hanging on and playing .500 hockey would be a major accomplishment for the team at this point.
This has proven to be a nightmare of a season in every sense of the word. The injuries continue to pile up, the goaltending has become an albatross, and though the reinforcements are coming, it’s difficult to know when. All the Avalanche can do is hang on and hope for the best.
