The number 57 was a topic of discussion for the Colorado Avalanche in the aftermath of their 4-3 home loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. It’s part of a larger theme that has so far derailed the first month of the 2015-16 campaign.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog used the number in his postgame presser. Defenseman Cody McCleod gave a similar account. A disappointed Patrick Roy used the same number too.

But the other three minutes of complacent hockey proved to be the most decisive moments of the night.

With the game tied at two apiece with under two minutes to play, the Avs found themselves out of position in their own zone and facing a Sharks rush that would eventually lead to Brent Burns‘ second goal of the night. The Avs finally got a positive bounce when the puck ricocheted off McCleod’s skate and into the netting, but that was preceded by an empty-netter for the Sharks that proved to be the dagger.

“When you’re playing a close game, every mental mistake could cost you, and that’s exactly what happened,” Roy said after the game. “You can’t make a mistake. It’s the time of the game where you have to be perfect.”

A spate of one-goal losses have plagued the Avalanche in the early-goings of the season. Of Colorado’s eight losses (one of which came in overtime), six have been decided by a single goal, and the Avalanche have only found themselves on the winning side of these kinds of contests just once.

Perhaps a little luck could go a long way in flipping one-goal decisions in favor of the burgundy, as Marc Moser suggests.

The Avs may say they feel Shark-, er, snakebitten of late with all these one-goal losses, but at some point it’s not about fate, the gods or bad bounces. As Roy suggested, it’s about playing a full 60 minutes of hockey. Through the first month of the year, Colorado has yet to prove they’re consistently capable of playing a full 60 minutes.

Whether it’s a three-minute lapse like they experienced against San Jose, or a massive whole-period meltdown like they suffered on opening night against Minnesota, “lapses” have been the unfortunate calling card on the young season.

There’s an old saying in sports, that you can’t win or lose a playoff spot in the first month of the season. That may be true, but whether they’re snakebitten or just not a complete hockey team, the Avs have left themselves a huge hole to dig out of if they hope to salvage a playoff spot coming out of the toughest division in hockey.

Either way, the Avalanche will have an opportunity to get back on track when they play the equally dismal Calgary Flames (3-8-1) at home tomorrow.

Calvin Jouard is an intern at Mile High Sports and a student at the University of Denver