Colorado Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson (6) – Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Reason 2: Injuries
The Colorado Avalanche sit at 414 man-games lost to injury this season, which is good for 2nd most in the NHL. Only the Columbus Blue Jackets have a higher total.
This makes sense, because the Blue Jacket players are dodging cannon fire in their home arena for 41 games a season. There are bound to be some injuries.
The Avs have had some key guys miss time. Semyon Varlamov could never get into an early-season rhythm, and he missed several weeks with re-occuring groin issues.
Erik Johnson hasn’t played since the all-star break, after undergoing a minor procedure. Now, Nathan MacKinnon is on the shelf for the remainder of the year with a busted foot.
The quality of names missing big chunks of time are definitely there. There have been some other injuries that have really ruptured the depth of the Avs.
The Colorado Avalanche sit at 414 man-games lost to injury this season, which is good for 2nd most in the NHL.
The Avs haven’t even seen Jesse Winchester play this season, and he was a guy who was supposed to solidify the bottom-six.
Enforcer Patrick Bordeleau has less than ten minutes of ice-time to his name this season.
Perhaps the most significant injury has been Jamie McGinn. Jamie is a guy who is top-six/bottom-six versatile, and has shown good chemistry with Matt Duchene in the past. Roy has resorted to line-shuffling often this season, both out of necessity and to try and shake things up.
I think Dutchy would have had a lot more success on the scoreboard if he had McGinn flying by his side instead of Max Talbot. Talbot is a hard-worker, but just doesn’t have the hands or offensive acumen to keep up with the Flying Dutchyman.
Injuries are never used as an excuse when a team struggles. Coaches often employ a next man up attitude. Anaheim sits 3rd in the league in man-games lost and they are serious contenders for the President’s trophy. Pittsburgh, the Islanders, Minnesota, and Washington are all in the top-10 in man-games lost — yet they all are sitting pretty in playoff spots as of today.
Should the Avalanche have overcome their injury woes, or do we give them a pass this year since they have had so many guys banged up?
Next: Reason THREE