Scott Takes: The Avs have a goaltending issue

Hockey is a team game, so it’s hard to pass blame on any one player or one position in particular that led to a loss. It’s even harder to try and get players to speak ill of their teammates after a loss. They just won’t do it. Good teammates protect their brothers. The Avs are no different.

Take for example last night. A reporter asked for the players’ thoughts on Cale Makar’s gaffe that led to the Stars’ fifth goal of the game. On an innocent play behind the net, Makar mishandled the puck, lost it in the crease to a forechecking Denis Gurianov, who easily put it in behind a unexpecting Pavel Francouz. That would end up being the game-winning goal. It was a critical error, and not one seen very often from the Calder Trophy finalist, to be fair. And what did his teammates have to say about it?

“Shit happens,” Gabe Landeskog said, before Nathan MacKinnon also quickly came to the defense of his teammate, adding “We think Cale is the best defenseman in the league.”

That’s just how teammates are. Of course they’re not going to bash their teammate.

But I’m not here to talk about that play. That was all just a set-up to say, 1) that Makar-mishandle goal was probably the only one that can’t be blamed on Francouz, and 2) when asked multiple times by reporters after the game about Frankie’s questionable play this series, no one could get his teammates to talk poorly of their now-starting goaltender. But I can.

So here goes my not-so-hot take: the Avalanche goaltending has been bad this series.