Colorado Avalanche: Thoughts After Yet Another Blown Third Period Lead

The Colorado Avalanche have dropped yet another contest as their mid-season slump endures. They need to get back to their winning ways.

The Colorado Avalanche blew another third period lead to lose the game. It’s now six times in the last 12 games that they’ve blown a lead in the third period and gone on to lose the game:

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Dec. 19: Colorado blew a 1-0 lead at home against the Carolina Hurricanes. (Final 3-1 Carolina)

Dec. 21: Colorado blew a 3-1 lead at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. (Final 5-3 Chicago)

Dec. 27: Colorado blew a 4-3 lead at home against the Minnesota Wild. (Final 6-4 Minnesota)

Dec. 28: Colorado blew a 2-1 lead in Dallas against the Stars. (Final 3-2, shootout)

Jan. 10: Colorado blew a 2-1 lead at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Final 4-3 Pittsburgh, OT)

Jan 14: Colorado blew a 2-1 lead at home against the Dallas Stars. (Final 3-2 Dallas, OT)

The Avalanche also blew a 2-0 lead against the Rangers in New York, but that disappeared in the first period. That’s nine points they left on the table. That’s four times they’ve failed to beat a Central Division rival after leading in the third.

That’s bad, Avs Nation. Bad enough that Avs Twitter is losing its marbles. Bad enough that longtime Avs beat reporters are losing their marbles.

Adrian Dater:

“This is officially a full-blown crisis, and something has to be done about it. The usual cliches in the locker room aren’t cutting it anymore. Something is wrong with this team right now, when games are on the line.  It’s killing them.”

Mark Kiszla:

“The Avs lack two things: Championship habits. And a Cup-worthy goalie.”

Both of those writers have covered the Avalanche since Day 1, and they sound wholly exasperated.

I haven’t “covered” the Avs since the beginning, but I have been a fan since then. And I’m frustrated. I’m so frustrated I almost wish the team was injured again because they played better when key players were on IR!

Well, here are some of my thoughts from tonight’s frustrating game.

Random Thoughts

Get your typing fingers ready because I’m going to start with the coach, and I know y’all hate that.

• The Colorado Avalanche were leading 2-0, and Jared Bednar started double teaming Nathan MacKinnon on the fourth line. Why? The team was leading.
• After the Matt Calvert–Jamie Benn tangle, Bednar threw all the lines into his blender. The Avs were still leading 2-1. He kept his bizzaro new combinations until Dallas tied the game, at which time he returned to the line combos that had gotten them the 2-0 lead to begin with.
• Literally, the next line out after the Stars tied the game was Pierre-Edouard Bellemare–Matthew Nieto, Matt Calvert. They hadn’t skated as a line since the second period, and it was 15 minutes into the third.

It’s not just me:

• Is Philipp Grubauer a starting goalie? I’m beginning to think he isn’t. At the very least, I agree with Kiszla (which almost never happens) — he’s not the goalie to backstop them to a Stanley Cup.
• The Avs were the better team for 55 minutes of the game. Then they, and the goalie, fell apart.
• Matt Calvert… was the least disappointing thing on the ice. He is just a giant heart in a man suit. He challenged Stars captain Jamie Benn to a dual after the latter took a cheap shot at him. At first, Benn chickened out. However, when the entirety of Pepsi Center booed him, he accepted the challenge:

• That was a total jerk move by Benn to pull Calvert’s helmet off so he’d be sure to hit him directly in the head.
• Benn is a loser.
• Moving on the Avs things again. They need to improve on the penalty kill.
• Also: faCeoFfs dOn’t MatTer… until overtime when faceoffs lost mean you don’t get to touch the puck, like, ever.

The Colorado Avalanche need to have an answer to tonight’s game. They must come out against the San Jose Sharks and play 75 minutes of a 60-minute game. They must be the better team every second of the game to hopefully get back in the W column.

Colorado is a better team than their current slump shows. They should be anyway — it’s up to them to show that.