Good & Bad: Avalanche’s Solid Performance in Toronto Derailed by Referee Blunder

The go-ahead goal scored by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday was controversial. But if it weren’t for goalie Joseph Woll, the Avalanche would’ve been able to overcome the fluke play.

Instead, an accidental interference by veteran NHL official Kelly Sutherland directly led to a shorthanded goal for Toronto’s Steve Lorentz, which led to a 2-1 Avalanche loss in regulation. Colorado’s nine-game point streak effectively came to an end.

The Avs’ lone goal came from Valeri Nichushkin. It was a power-play tally against the same team he scored a hat trick against 11 days prior. Woll made 38 saves for the Leafs to secure an important two points for Toronto. He was undeniably the first star of the game.

But it’s hard for Colorado to be upset with a game that ends like that. Jared Bednar’s club had ample opportunity to tie it up. And if it weren’t for the referee’s gaffe, they would’ve at least gotten to overtime and gained one, if not two points.

Here’s how it went down:

After exchanging power-play goals in the second period, the Avalanche got a second opportunity to score on the man advantage in the third period. It was the only other PP for either team aside from the goals by Auston Matthews and Nichushkin.

Toronto’s Simon Benoit grabbed the loose puck and sent it down the ice with less than 45 seconds remaining on the man advantage. But his clear was cut short after Sutherland hit a rut in the ice and fell over. The puck hit the official and stayed in the neutral zone and the closest skater to it was Lorentz.

The speedy forward picked up the puck and beat Mackenzie Blackwood.

That was the difference in an otherwise excellent game by two of the NHL’s better teams.

Good: An Avalanche of Chances

Outside of a few bad turnovers in the third period, the Avs were still the better team. They outshot the Leafs 39-25, had a 39-27 advantage in scoring chances, and 15-14 in high-danger opportunities (per NaturalStatTrick).

At five on five, they controlled play despite being on the road against a hungry Toronto team desperately trying to get back on their game.

Bad: An Unlucky Game All-Around

It would be easy to highlight the brutal go-ahead goal here. Beyond that play, one that the Avs absolutely can use as an excuse (but won’t), the first Toronto goal was also a string of bad luck.

Auston Matthews had the puck at the side of the Avs’ goal. In an attempt to set up William Nylander in front, Matthews sent the puck toward the crease, but it deflected off the stick of Colorado’s Devon Toews and bounced up and over the shoulder of Blackwood to make it 2-1.

The Leafs did the right thing on this play. As the season winds down, it’s gritty goals like this that make a difference. It’s seldom a bad idea to throw the puck toward the net. But given what the second Leafs goal looked like, it’s easy to chalk it up as an unlucky game all around.

If the Avalanche play like that most nights, they’ll win a lot more than they’ll lose. On to the next one.