Strike 2: It’s always said that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Unless you start really really slow, of course.
For the Colorado Avalanche, a slew of slow starts over the past few weeks have rarely resulted in bad endings, but the effects of playing from behind for the better part of the last two months, and needing to score five goals every night in order to win could take a toll come playoff time. With top goaltender Alexandar Georgiev not exactly looking like a wall in net, the uber talented Avs offense has been called upon to come to the rescue way more often than not.
And over their past two very important games, they haven’t been able to pull it off.
A disheartening 6-2 loss to the surging Edmonton Oilers followed by a back-breaking 7-4 home defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars has left Colorado five points behind Dallas in the race to win the Central Division, and just two points ahead of third place Winnipeg with four games to play in the regular season. The Jets have five games left.
A high-flying offense has long been the trademark of the Avs – as long as they’ve been led by Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon. But at some point, even the best teams need defense and goaltending to win in the postseason. It’s fair to ask at this point if Colorado has enough of either or both?
Georgiev has been shaky recently to say the least. Is he on thin ice, maybe? He was victimized by three rapid fire power play goals against Dallas, kept the Avs in the game at the outset (a big change from the trend of giving up the first goal very early the past month or so) and did make a large number of standout saves, but still, he gave up six goals for the second straight game. Not exactly Patrick Roy-esque.
And the Avs defense, which features one of if not the best D-man in the game in Cale Makar, hasn’t been holding up its end, either. In fact, Avs head coach Jared Bednar pointed the finger at the blue line, rather than Georgiev after the Dallas loss. In the two losses, Colorado yielded almost 100 shots on goal.
With the division title pretty much out of reach, staying ahead of Winnipeg for home ice advantage is what’s left to play for in the final week of the regular season. While the offense will get back injured standouts Mikko Rantanen and Miles Wood at some point, the question will be what can the Avs do for the defensive end that will make a difference? And will there come a time when backup goaltender Justus Annunen – who has been very good against non-playoff contenders in his limited action – get called upon in moments that really matter?
Everyone would love for the Avs to skate into the Stanley Cup playoffs with everyone healthy and at the top of their game. That’s not going to be the case. So the question is, what can Bednar and his coaching staff do to prop up a shaky blue line and a goalie with confidence issues while hoping his high flying offense won’t run out of gas?
A season ago, after a sprint to the finish that won them the Central Division title, the Avs had nothing left in the first round of the postseason. Maybe this year, they go in a more desperate group?
