The Colorado Avalanche are 5-1-4 in their first 10 games of the season, with four of their losses coming in extra minutes—two shootouts and two overtime losses. However, with those games going into extra time, even with a loss, they come away with a point.
The Avalanche have faced adversity early this season with Mackenzie Blackwood out due to an injury, and therefore leaning on Scott Wedgewood for most of the minutes this year, and Trent Miner for one start and one game in which he replaced Wedgewood. Blackwood has a GAA of 2.42, while Miner has a GAA of 2.12. In the long run, keeping a goals against average below 3.00 is considered a successful outing.
Both goalies have had some goals against that they’d love to have back (in other words, “soft” goals that should have been stopped), while the teammates up front have left their netminders out to dry at other times. Turnovers have been a huge issue as of late, and a big reason why this team is on a four-game losing streak.
Of course, it’s a bit tough when you’re starting a young player here and there in place of an injured veteran, as Zakhar Bardakov has played in five games with one assist, and Logan O’Connor has been out for months because of a surgery, though O’Connor should be back sometime in November. His return can’t come soon enough.
Two Avalanche players, Martin Necas (22) and Nathan MacKinnon (20) are in the top-10 in terms of turnovers throughout the first 10 games of the season, which is also pretty rough, as both players need to be a lot better on the top line. MacKinnon has seven goals which leads the team, while Necas is right behind him at six, but the turnovers need to be reduced tremendously.
Gabriel Landeskog and Victor Olofsson officially have zero goals between the two, and while Landeskog did score one that didn’t count
, that’s exactly the point. I know he has missed three full seasons because of his knee injury, but he has got to get that scoreless streak over with. Once he gets that first goal since his regular season return, things should start clicking for him. He might still need some time to gain chemistry with his new teammates, which is understandable, but if he doesn’t get going soon, the Avalanche could be in trouble.
Colorado faces the New Jersey Devils for a second-straight game on Tuesday, this time at home at Ball Arena. That might be just what the team needs—to get back on track at home. The Devils were too much for the Avs to handle on Sunday, losing 4-3, but a home game against a tough opponent might just be what can help the team start a win streak.
The Avalanche face the 5-1-3 Golden Knights and the 2-5-2 San Jose Sharks in their two games following Tuesday’s game vs New Jersey. Those two games are key in the team’s quest to getting back on track, though a stomping win at home Tuesday would be even better.
The season has barely even gotten started, and there’s no reason to panic right now. If playoff teams were crowned this early, there would be no sense in playing any other games.