The Avalanche had one last chance in the regular season to prove to the St. Louis Blues and to themselves that they could beat them at Enterprise Center.
But just as they did in October, the Blues ended Colorado’s unbeaten streak, defeating the Avalanche 5-2.
The Avs (21-9-3) were 8-0-1 coming into Monday’s inter-division matchup but fall to 0-2 in two games in St. Louis.
It wasn’t a completely one-sided game. In the second period, down a goal, Colorado took control, scoring twice and outshooting the Blues 13-2 in the process to gain a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes of the period.
But after a high-sticking double-minor penalty taken by forward Nazem Kadri, St. Louis capitalized on both power-play opportunities to take a 3-2 lead.
They added two more goals in the third.
Blues forward David Perron recorded a hat-trick after scoring on the empty net.
Takeaways
Grubauer plays well in his return. Despite giving up four goals, Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer played a great game for the Avs. Grubauer was injured over a week ago in Boston. He made 30 saves, bailing out his defense on multiple occasions.
Grubauer falls to 10-6-2 on the season.
The power play delivers in a big way. The Avs have done an exceptional job overcoming injuries to many of its top players in almost every way this season. One aspect of their game that has suffered, however, is their power play. With defenseman and power-play quarterback Cale Makar out with an upper-body injury, the Avs have struggled with the man-advantage. They currently rank 16th in the NHL at 18.4 percent on the power play.
Against the Blues, Colorado was 1-for-2.
Rantanen finished a game that results in a regulation loss for the first time. Impressive, right? Heading into this game, Rantanen had appeared in 16 games. He was injured in the loss to St. Louis in October, but in the remaining 15 games that he started and completed the Avalanche were 13-0-2.
The Avs are 13-2-2 with Rantanen in the lineup.
Colorado closes its two-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks at 6 p.m. MST on Wednesday at the United Center.