It may be a shock that the Colorado Avalanche are no longer first in the entire league as the Carolina Hurricanes took over that spot after a 3-1 win over the Flyers. The Avs and Canes are both tied in points with 87, but the Canes have played 1 less game than them so therefore, they’re the number 1 team in the NHL. However, the Avs still hold a commanding first place lead over the Central Division. The closest team in sight of reaching them in their division is the St. Louis Blues with 75 points. It’s been a tough recent stretch for the Avs as they’ve gone 1-3-1 in their last 5 games, where 3 of the losses have come on the road. We are so used to talking about the success of this team that it has many shocked at what’s happened during these 5 games. Although, it truly isn’t too much to worry about, as this will happen on multiple occasions throughout a season. Also not to mention that Colorado only had 3 home games the past 3 weeks. This season’s been nothing short of extravagant so far, despite this road block.
The Avs recently took off on a road trip down east to face off against 3 of the Metropolitan teams. The first game was against the New York Islanders, where the Avs played well. The Islanders got the scoring started with Anders Lee converting on the powerplay. The Avs responded with a goal by the NHL’s defense goal/point leader, Cale Makar to tie the game at 1. From there, the Avs dominated in the 3rd period scoring 4 more times to make it 5-1. Nathan MacKinnon picked up his 18th to get the scoring parade started. J.T. Compher also found the back of the net for his 11th goal of the year. Cale Makar went on to grab his 2nd of the game, contributing to a 3-point performance. Devon Toew piggy-backed on the action against his former team to bring the lead to an insurmountable deficit for the Islanders, at least that’s what it seemed. The Islanders’ scrappy personality helped them claw their way back into the game to make it 5-4. Ultimately, the Islanders fell short of the comeback, while it was almost a complete disaster for Colorado as they let them back into the game. The Avs the next day were heading to New Jersey.
The Devils awaited the arrival of the Avalanche to play in front of the New Jersey crowd at Prudential Center. The Avs came out strong with a productive 1st period on the powerplay, with 2 goals. Nathan MacKinnon got them rolling and Mikko Rantanen tacked on for the early 2-0 advantage. Cale Makar scored another goal to extend the lead to 3-0. After this, the Devils would come back with 5 unanswered. It was a frustrating finish for the Avs because a phenomenal start had just vanished. A powerplay late became the difference for the Devils, with a Nathan Bastian tally in the 3rd period to seal the deal. The final from New Jersey was 5-3.
The next matchup had been a top 2 affair against the Carolina Hurricanes. This game was surprisingly low in scoring, nonetheless it had plenty of chances. It became a scoreless contest until late in the 3rd period, when Ethan Bear broke the ice with 5:40 remaining in the final frame. A last ditch effort to pull the goalie proved to be detrimental to the Avs as Sebastian Aho capitalized on the empty-net opportunity to clinch the 2-0 victory. A bit of controversy between the Avs bench and the refs because it was believed that the Canes committed a penalty prior to the 1st goal that went uncalled by the officials. It left the Avalanche bench upset and the game continued without Captain Gabriel Landeskog due to a 10-minute misconduct for chirping at the ref.
The Colorado Avalanche had a road trip to forget even though the squad had been in contention for every game. The issue was that they had a hard time closing. Luckily, the Avalanche will return home against the Calgary Flames Sunday to try to get their revenge, perhaps served cold. It’s only for one game until another trip. Some more tough news on the injury front for Gabriel Landeskog since he’ll undergo surgery and will be out indefinitely. Samuel Girard is also out for 4 weeks with a lower-body injury. Although, there is some good news that Bo Byram has been spotted on the ice in a non-contact practice jersey. It’s a great sign especially because he’s been so missed by the fan base. But we don’t want to rush him into coming back too early. A hopeful bounce back is on the horizon for this club. They just need to get through one more road-trip to California before coming back for a long home stand.
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