Avalanche no-show again, lose blowout to Valeri Nichushkin and Blue Jackets

The Colorado Avalanche put up yet another no-show. This time, it was Tuesday night in Columbus.

The Avs dropped a blowout 7-2 loss to the Blue Jackets and former member Valeri Nichushkin.

Colorado managed to hang tough for 20 minutes before the wheels completely fell off in the second period. Columbus made the game 6-1 before a late-period power play goal by Nazem Kadri briefly breathed some life into the Avs.

Alas, there was no miraculous comeback in the works. The Jackets scored one in the third to ice the victory.

For the Avalanche, the loss snapped a three-game winning streak. For Columbus, it was a big win. It gave the team a chance to bounce back after dropping two straight.

Scott Wedgewood on the wrong end of a spanking

Scott Wedgewood just happened to be on the wrong end of a spanking. The Avalanche goalie got the hook early in the second period after surrendering four goals on nine shots.

He did not look comfortable at all, giving up relatively questionable goals. But if you look closely, Wedgewood can’t bear the entire blame for the awful showing.

The fourth goal, the one that led to Wedgewood getting the hook, was a clear example of the Avalanche failing to play defense. The Avs’ netminder made two saves before the third rebound finally hit Cole Silinger’s stick and into the empty net.

That’s the kind of night the Avalanche had in Columbus. It was the sort of game that you would expect from a rebuilding team still trying to find an identity, not from a team believed to be a Stanley Cup contender.

Avs dominated at times, but meltdown proved costly

The Avalanche dominated stretches of the game. At first glance, it wouldn’t have seemed like Colorado was playing on back-to-back nights. Even with the final shot count at 29-24, you would think that the Avs played a good game.

But that was not the case. The Avalanche did not execute and allowed that second-period meltdown to put the kibosh on their winning streak.

To add insult to injury, Valeri Nichushkin made the game 6-1 with this stinker of a goal:

Make no mistake, folks. This was no one-off bad night. This game has become a concerning trend for the Avalanche, highlighting numerous concerns, most notably the goaltending. While the Avs let Scott Wedgewood out to dry, MacKenzie Blackwood didn’t fare any better. Instead of stopping the bleeding and giving his team a chance to get back, Blackwood allowed three more goals.

Jared Bednar won’t have much time to figure things out, as the Avs return to Ball Arena to host the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow