Aarif Deen
Two nights after a massive come-from-behind victory, the Avalanche stumbled in Carolina. Despite scoring first, Colorado fell 5-3 to the Hurricanes and let in yet another empty-net goal. The team is 14-13-0 at the one-third mark of the season and finds themselves on the outside of the playoff picture.
10 Observations from Thursday’s 5-3 loss
1. When the team traded for Scott Wedgewood, they were hoping to finally have a goalie that wasn’t going to bend and then break before the first period ended. Wedgewood made several big stops early and held the fort down long enough for the Avs to score the first goal. That in itself is progression given the way things have gone in recent weeks. But, unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough. Colorado still has other issues to figure out.
2. Goaltending looks better with Wedgewood but I’m curious how long that’ll last. The other option is still an inconsistent Alexandar Georgiev and even if the Avs pulled off another goalie trade, it’ll take time before it happens. I still think Wedgewood gets the nod in Detroit, though.
3. The Josh Manson injury is a stark reminder that this team needs defense depth. It was an absolute luxury to have Bowen Byram on the third pair for almost three full seasons. But now, if an injury hits the top four, the lack of options becomes more clear.
4. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar combined for 10 shots on goal. The rest of the Avs had nine.
5. Seriously, what is going on with Casey Mittelstadt?
6. Mittelstadt’s struggles make me wonder what Jared Bednar does with Ross Colton when he’s ready to return. He already said he’d like to start him on the wing where he played well. But what if Mittelstadt is still riding a cold streak?
7. The reality of the Avs’ center depth is, guys like Ivan Ivan and Parker Kelly are always going to look great for stretches and a non-option at other times. Ivan played less than 10 minutes against Carolina. In the end, he’s still a rookie learning the ropes in the NHL.
8. Minus-2 for Calvin de Haan and an overall tough night after having his best game with Colorado two nights prior.
9. Jordan Staal was 14-for-21 at faceoffs, some of which came at crucial points where the Avs could’ve used a good win. I say MacKinnon should spend a summer with him to figure out this faceoff thing.
10. Seth Jarvis had a pretty good night. I haven’t watched him much throughout his NHL career but I’ll be keeping an eye on him more now that he’s been named to Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off. I think that one caught a lot of people by surprise — myself included.