The Colorado Avalanche continued their East Coast trip in Montreal on Thursday night. However, the Avs dropped their second decision in two nights, losing to the Canadiens 7-3. The game was close early in the third period, but the Habs managed to pull away.
With the defeat, the Avalanche have now lost six of their last eight games, going 2-4-2 in that stretch.
While some have begun to sound off some of the alarms, the fact is that there is no need to panic just yet. The Avalanche maintain a comfortable lead in the Central Division. However, the club does need to turn things around before, as the season heads into the Olympic break.
With that in mind, here’s a look at this edition of the Avalanche news.
Road woes continue
The Avalanche’s road woes continued on Thursday. After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs last Sunday, the Avs have dropped back-to-back games in Ottawa and Montreal. With one more game left on the trip in Detroit, the Avalanche have a chance to right the ship.
However, Detroit has been one of the most consistently good teams in the Eastern Conference this season. So, the back-to-back set with the Red Wings will be an important opportunity to end the skid and head into the Olympic break on a good note.
That said, one of the issues I’ve pointed out is the condensed nature of this season’s schedule. It seems that it’s gotten to the Avalanche. So, the Olympic break could not have come any sooner. The Avalanche play on consecutive days, closing out this portion of the schedule with a three-games-in-four-nights set.
Colton off skids
If there was one highlight in Thursday night’s loss, it was Ross Colton scoring. Colton scored his sixth of the season early in the third period to make the game 5-3 at the time. It was the 29-year-old’s first goal in 26 games. As such, the tally had been a long time coming.
That said, Colton hasn’t had an awful season. He’s notched 21 points in 49 games. He’s well on track to beat last year’s point totals and could reach his career high of 40 points set during the 2023-24 season.
Avalanche need more Middleton
Keaton Middleton got into the lineup on Thursday night in Montreal. It was his second game this year after making his season debut in Ottawa the night before.
Middleton logged a seemingly pedestrian 12:58, but it was his bout late in the third period that really stirred the pot. The bout was likely a retaliation for an earlier hit that Josh Manson had laid on Canadiens blueliner Kaiden Guhle.
During the tussle, Middleton exchanged some words with Montreal forward Josh Anderson before enforcer Arber Xhekaj got into the mix. Xhekaj and Middleton dropped the gloves, leaving fans with one final showdown.
Check out the bout here, as shown by Sportsnet.
While Xhekaj managed to get the best of Middleton, the roughhousing is exactly what the Avalanche need. Other clubs will be looking to drop more physical play on the Avalanche. That’s why having a resident troublemaker like Middleton will become highly useful as the season wears on.
It’s one of the points I’ve made in recent weeks. If the Avalanche are going to target depth players this trade deadline, more physically inclined players should be on the wishlist.
The Avalanche will next hit the ice on Saturday afternoon in Detroit. The game will be an early start, so do keep that in mind.