Fresh off of a dominating win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Colorado Avalanche were riding high. Even more importantly, they landed the goaltender they had been looking for, making a big deal to grab Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks. A home game against the Utah Hockey Club felt like it would be the latest win in a growing streak for the Avalanche.
Instead, the Avalanche had a flat night, and the Utah Hockey Club took advantage. There are a few takeaways from the Avalanche’s 4-1 loss to their division rival from what turned out to be a flat Thursday night for the team.
The Effort Didn’t Feel Like it Was There
It is a lot to ask of any team to give 100% effort for 82 games. They may be elite athletes, but they are also human beings. Guys get tired and have off nights. Riding a nice little winning streak, it felt like the Avalanche rolled into this game and gave a B-level effort throughout.
Even head coach Jared Bednar commented on it. “We got better as the game went on. It looked like we were really fighting to try and find our legs today.” Utah was very good defensively, keeping chances to the edges of the offensive zone, and making it tough for the Avalanche to generate high-danger chances.
By the time the Avalanche started showing some life, it was already 3-0 Utah. These are never ideal games, but they happen. The good teams find a way to rebound the next time out and prevent things from continuing to move in a negative direction.
The Avalanche Need More From Mittelstadt
For the 10th time in his last 12 games, Casey Mittelstadt was held without a point. He got off to the best start of his career, scoring 16 points in 15 games but has since gone virtually unnoticeable. He went eight straight without a point before stringing together a two-game point streak.
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For the Avalanche to be the very best version of themselves, they need an effective second-line center. For the first 15 games of the season, it looked like they had finally found their guy. Cold streaks happen, but Mittelstadt cannot prolong this stretch.
The one positive of note is that his ice time is slowly starting to tick back up. He played a season-low 12 minutes against his former team the Buffalo Sabres and has had three games in his last five where he logged less than 15 minutes per contest. Then again, it doesn’t help that his linemates are constantly revolving because of injuries, but that’s another battle to handle.
With Respect to Scott Wedgewood
It is safe to say that the franchise and fan base are eagerly awaiting the debut of Blackwood. Scott Wedgewood got the nod again on Thursday as Blackwood has been reportedly dealing with an illness, making everyone wait just a little longer for his first start as a member of the Avalanche.
Respectfully, Wedgewood is a backup for a reason. He has been fine so far, and he wasn’t even all that bad against the Utah Hockey Club. Dylan Guenther’s first goal and the second-period goal by Vladislav Kolyachonok both came as the result of heavy traffic and a funky bounce.
They really need Blackwood in the mix to provide the steady goaltending they have been looking for. Wedgewood will be fine in spot duty but he’s just not good enough to make a difference on nights like these when the rest of the team just isn’t playing up to their level.
Just One of Those Games
As mentioned before, this is just one of those games where it’s clear that guys are slogging through. By the time the Avalanche started to show a bit of life, it was too little, too late. All you can do when these games happen is brush yourself off and try it again the next time out.
The good news is that this team is rarely down for long. Just as importantly, they will be getting Blackwood in net and the potential for him in Denver is very high. The Avalanche will get their chance at redemption in Utah on Dec. 27 and will hopefully have strung together a few wins between then and now.
