The Colorado Avalanche have been inconsistent this season. And that’s no surprise to anyone watching this team.
But that lack of dominance, despite the overall star power on the team, may not be quite the team’s own fault.
It’s something to pin the blame on others. Allow me to elaborate.
When certain teams achieve an elite status, they become an immediate target. Every team, regardless of its place in the standings, wants to beat them. After all, beating the Presidents’ Trophy winners, even if you’re in last place, is one heck of a statement game for your fan base.
And so, the Avalanche have entered this season with a huge target on their backs. Teams like the Nashville Predators, and especially Ross Colton, are going around wanting a piece of the Avs. Colton’s performance on Thursday night was a clear example of a guy running around with a chip on his shoulder.
Like Colton, just about every team in the league has a chip on their shoulder. And if they can pound Colorado, that type of win could mean a turning point for a struggling team. Coaches know it. Team leaders know it.
They know that if they go out there and beat the Avalanche, the entire team will believe they can beat anybody.
Avalanche have only one solution to their inconsistency
Ultimately, the Avs only have one solution to their inconsistency. They have to treat every game as if each team they’re facing is looking to eliminate them from the playoffs.
It’s not that the Avalanche are taking nights off, even though it may seem like it. But when you look at the start of several games this season, the other team has come out flying. That situation has seemingly caught Colorado unawares, leading to massively slow starts.
Over the course of most games, the Avs have settled in. But as was the case against the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this season, the early deficit is just too much to overcome.
There’s one other thing to keep in mind. The Avalanche haven’t been able to paper over their sloppy defensive play. Even if MacKenzie Blackwood has given the Avs a chance to win games, the bottom line is that Nathan MacKinnon and company haven’t always been able to score their way out of bad starts.
So, there it is. The mystery surrounding the Avalanche’s human-looking start this season could be nothing more than a mindset shift that the team needs to make in order to ensure that there are no slow starts.
That may be the single biggest change the team could make moving forward.
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