Nearly a week ago, the Colorado Avalanche lost in a 7-2 blowout to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The bizarre thing was that their biggest star, Sidney Crosby, was not even in the game. He was out due to an injury that he suffered at the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy.
The Penguins scored early, immediately putting the pressure on the Avalanche after just three minutes of play, which forces them to play the game a way they don’t want to. It was also on the Penguins’ first recorded shot on goal, which is never a positive sign.
Nathan MacKinnon attacked back a few minutes later with his own goal, which tied the game. However, the Penguins struck back again, just 15 seconds later, making it 2-1 Penguins. The first period ended in a score of 4-2 for Pittsburgh.
In normal circumstances, that’s nothing to worry about for Avalanche fans. Colorado has been known to come back and win games over the years, though they haven’t had to have many comebacks this season, dominating for the most part.
Colorado has to do a lot better of a job with the puck. Though they led in shots 27-20, they have to create a lot more opportunities. They have to put around 35-40 shots on goal. Ideally more—closer to 50–while preventing chances for the Penguins.
On some opportunities, including one late in the second period, the Avalanche were very sloppy with the puck. In this particular instance, it resulted in a turnover and power play goal for Bryan Rust. The Avalanche had the puck while shorthanded, but just were undisciplined with it. Good teams such as the Penguins are going to make you pay for those mistakes. You can have the best penalty kill in the league and still make mistakes like that.
Pittsburgh held the Avalanche to just four shots on goal in the second period of that game. That’s another area the Avs have done well in, despite that bad period. It’s also simply in part due to the turnovers they coughed up. You can’t allow shots on goal if you maintain possession of the puck.
Just over nine minutes into the third period, the Penguins got their seventh and final goal off of an insane pass into a wide open net. There was nothing anyone could really do in that scenario given how lucky it was. But at that point, the game was cooked.
Defensive breakdowns were an issue in that game. Head coach Jared Bednar has touched up the pairings a little bit lately, putting Brett Kulak on the top pairing with Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Sam Malinski on the second pairing, and Josh Manson/Brent Burns on the third pairing. Burns has been taking some heat for some poor decisions as of late.
If the Avs take control early and quit turning the puck over, they should be able to bring home the win. Despite the game being in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, it doesn’t really matter. The Penguins destroyed Colorado at Ball Arena, so it’s time for the script to be flipped.
Since that matchup, the Avalanche have clinched a playoff spot. They cannot put the brakes on right now. Getting the win against Pittsburgh could help continue putting other teams on notice.