It was an off night for Scott Wedgewood, but he was not the reason the Avalanche lost to the Hurricanes 5-4 in a shootout.
The Avs first period was riddled with turnovers and “casual defending,” according to head coach Jared Bednar. But they tightened up play in the second and third to take it to overtime and the shootout.
“That’s just how we got to play. I mean, it’s how we’ve got to play. That’s how we do play, but you’ve got to do it for a full 60 if you want two points,” Bednar said after the loss.
It was a familiar scenario from the overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. Bouts of sloppy play and poor puck control lead to scoring chances for the opposing team. The Avs overcame a 2-1 deficit after the second period against the Mammoth and rallied back from a 4-1 deficit after the first period against the Canes to earn a point in each game.
“Some turnovers, some poor puck decisions, and they’re a skilled team. So they’re going to capitalize on it, and that’s what they did. And all of a sudden, we found ourselves in a hole, but having said that, we came out and thought we dominated for the last 40 minutes of that game,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said Thursday night.
When mistakes happen once, it’s a coincidence. When they repeat themselves, it’s concerning. But the Avs’ consistency isn’t a concern for Bednar.
“Seven games in, there’s three or four periods there that I didn’t like. And still trying to do the right things — honestly, those are more puck management and decision-making things …,” Bednar said ahead of the matchup with Carolina. “And if over the course of seven games we have a handful of periods, I think you’ll take that all year long.”
Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals and possibly had his best game thus far, but it wasn’t enough for the Avs to earn two points. Despite the losses, the team remains confident in its skill.
“For us as a collective whole, there’s a lot of chatter, what guys are seeing. When times get tough, everybody seems to uplift … that’s a sign of a mature team,” Cale Makar said after the loss to Carolina. “We just need to continue to do that, especially on the power play. Chips are going to fall where they may here, but we’re going to find a way at some point to be a consistently good force.”
The Avalanche has back-to-back afternoon games against the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils before returning to Ball Arena to face the Devils again on Tuesday.
