The Colorado Avalanche lost a close 5-3 game on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars in the Thanksgiving Showdown.
While the score may not suggest the game was close, it was pretty close. The Avalanche headed into the third period down 4-1. While it seemed the game was over, it wasn’t. The Stars failed to finish off the Avs, leaving them for dead.
That mistake almost came back to bite the Stars. The Avs scored twice in the first half of the third period, setting up a highly entertaining finish. In the end, Dallas prevailed with an empty-netter sealing the deal.
The Avs deserve credit for coming back after a tough second period. But unlike other games, they can’t pin the blame on shoddy goaltending. They got a strong outing from Alexandar Georgiev, who seems to be rounding into form.
But on Thursday night, it was the defense, more specifically, defensive lapses, that cost the Avs the two points.
First of all, two power play goals made a significant difference. The Stars went 2-for-4 with the man advantage, making the Avalanche look lost and distraught on both goals. But beyond that, the Avs lost more than 57% of the draws, while seemingly failing to cover the Stars’ forwards.
Yes, Cale Makar played out of his mind. The insane play he made to set up Mikko Rantanen for the Avs’ third goal was highlight-reel stuff. But it was the bottom four that got torched at various points in the game.
The Colorado Avalanche defense must play tighter games
My colleague Sean McKenna wrote an interesting piece addressing the defensive side of the equation for the Colorado Avalanche.
He rightfully pointed out that the Avalanche’s underlying defensive metrics show the team’s defensive game is much better than game scores would suggest.
However, there is room for improvement. The recent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning illustrated that the Avalanche are prone to significant lapses. While the overarching narrative has been the underwhelming performance in the crease, the fact is that the Avalanche must play a tighter defensive game.
Despite the predominance of offense in today’s NHL, teams that play solid defense generally win more games. That situation means the Avalanche can’t simply outscore their way out. They still need to play solid defense in order to win.
Does that mean finding a new scheme? Could it mean revamping the defensive structure? Possibly. What this situation means is focusing on the fundamentals. The Avs need to keep things simple, particularly as challenges get harder.
There is plenty of hockey left to be played. The Avalanche are in the thick of the playoff race. But they must play tighter games or else the offseason could come much earlier than expected this year.