Avalanche nearly survive without MacKinnon & Makar, lose on dreadful giveaway

The Colorado Avalanche nearly survived Thursday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators without their top two players.

The Avs dropped a tough 4-3 overtime loss to Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre, losing on Shane Pinto’s second goal of the night. The goal capped off what was one heck of a birthday for the Ottawa forward.

The Avalanche almost pulled off a great comeback, rallying from a 2-0 first-period deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the third period. However, the Senators tied the game late.

In overtime, a dreadful giveaway by Parker Kelly, who had scored a shorthanded game-tying goal earlier in the third, made an errant pass that landed on Pinto’s stick. Scott Wedgewood, who had a solid night, could not stop the shot.

Pinto’s gave Ottawa two crucial points in the standings. Meanwhile, the Avalanche came away with the loser point.

Disaster struck the Avalanche in the second period

The main story, beyond the disappointing score, was the loss of Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. Both stars left in the second period and did not return. There is no word at the moment regarding the two stars.

The official narrative is that both players will be evaluated, and further updates will be provided down the line.

Needless to say, the loss of both stars will weigh heavily on the team.

Power play came through when needed

In what could be a silver lining for the Avalanche on Thursday night, all three goals came on special teams.

The Parker Kelly goal came while shorthanded early in the third.

The goal was especially meaningful as Kelly had briefly left the game, but returned for the third.

A few minutes later, captain Gabriel Landeskog seemingly picked up the slack, scoring this power play beauty to give the Avs a short-lived 3-2 lead.

So, the good news is, and Avalanche fans need some after the game, is that the power play seems to have begun bearing fruit. The Avs went 2-for-5 with the man advantage, showing that the changes are paying off. If that’s the case, well, it really bodes well for the club moving forward.

Scott Wedgewood had a great game despite the numbers

As for Wedgewood, he was fantastic on the night. After what seemed like a couple of shaky goals in the first, he settled down. While the line doesn’t look amazing, four goals on 26 shots, the bottom line is that no one can really blame the last two goals on Wedgewood. They were clear defensive breakdowns, and the game-winner, of course, was just a disastrous play.

At least the Avalanche came away with a point on the night. Now, it’s on to Montreal for a showdown on Saturday night against the Canadiens.

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