Avalanche Turning Point: Horrific Powerplay Kills the Buzz (+)

In the Turning Point, we’ll take a look at one moment in the previous Colorado Avalanche game that changed the momentum of the game.

Having just scored, the Avalanche had some momentum going. They also had Ball Arena buzzing. What followed was one of the worst powerplays you will ever see.

The Los Angeles Kings came in with 23rd ranked penalty kill in the league. In the second period, the Avalanche made it look elite.

A Sign of What’s to Come

After losing the initial face-off, the Avalanche actually manage to get the puck back, but Rantanen tries to cut to the middle with a guy all over him. It results in the Kings taking the puck and sending it down the ice.

MacKinnon, who is one of the best in the league at gaining the zone with possession, brings the puck up the ice. The Kings, who played the first powerplay exactly the same way, stand him up at the blueline. He tries to hit the blueline and flip it over to Rantanen, but he does it a little too quickly, and puts himself offsides.

This was just the beginning of a bad powerplay.

Flustered

The Avalanche try again, and the Kings continue to be ready for everything. MacKinnon hits the blueline and sends it to Lehkonen. The Finnish winger, who didn’t have his best game, gets the puck taken off his stick very easily, and it’s cleared.

At this point, frustration seems to be creeping in for the Avalanche. Cale Makar gets the puck from Georgiev and tries to do it all himself. When he hits the blueline, he tries to cut between three Kings defenders. They’re not having any of it. Another easy clear for the Kings, and Makar goes to the bench. He’s replaced by Devon Toews.

On their fourth try, the Avalanche finally gain the zone. Time to set up, right? Not exactly.

Toews, who also did not have a great game, feels the pressure, and he sends a puck back to Rantanen. The only problem is he sends it right into his feet. The bad pass bounces off his skate, and the Kings poke it out. All of the sudden, Trevor Moore has a breakaway.

Luckily for the Avalanche, Georgiev bails them out. There’s still time to salvage this mess of a powerplay.

It Only Gets Worse

Rantanen, who is still on the ice after 90 seconds, decides to give it a go. The defenseman easily pokes the puck away from him, and it’s time for the second unit to give it a shot.

Newhook actually gets into the zone and sends it to Byram. The young defender holds onto it, but gets pushed off the puck easily and it’s cleared away again.

The Avalanche get one final chance to just get the puck in, and they can’t even do that.

Two minutes down and absolutely nothing to show for it. Not only did they fail to even come close to registering a shot on net, but they gave up a breakaway to the Kings. It was the ugliest powerplay of the year for the Avalanche.

They had a chance to tie the game up, and didn’t come close. 24 seconds into the third period, the Kings extended their lead, and the hole was too deep for the Avalanche to climb out of.