3 thoughts on the Colorado Avalanche’s tough preseason loss to Stars

The Colorado Avalanche lost a tough 4-2 Friday night preseason tilt against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Arena.

Ivan Ivan and Parker Kelly had the goals for the Colorado Avalanche, while Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, and Kole Lind scored for the Stars.

Overall, the Avs played a solid hockey game throughout despite missing almost every regular. Unfortunately, an unlucky bounce in the third period led to Duchene’s second goal of the night, sending the Stars off to another preseason win.

So, let’s take a closer look at the Colorado Avalanche’s disappointing loss on Friday night against the Dallas Stars.

Three thoughts on the Colorado Avalanche’s tough preseason loss

The effort was there all around

The Avs came flying out of the gate. They played tough and physical. While Matt Duchene opened the scoring early in the first period, the Avalanche did not fold. Ivan tied the game early in the second. However, the Stars replied within a minute to take a 2-1 lead.

Once again, the Avs didn’t quit. They replied roughly three minutes later to tie the game at two. After the Stars took a 3-2 lead at the start of the third, the Avs made a push to tie the game. However, the equalizer never came.

It’s worth pointing out that the Avs made a strong effort in spite of icing a lineup made up almost entirely of prospects and non-roster players. A notable absence was Calum Ritchie who could have been a difference-maker had he been on the ice.

Still, the game was encouraging as the Avs’ prospect development has shown some clearly positive signs.

Georgiev was solid if unspectacular

Alexandar Georgiev had a solid night. He stopped 14 of 16 shots and made saves when he had to. However, the two goals he gave up looked somewhat suspicious.

First, Matt Duchene made Georgiev look out of place by beating him with a wicked shot to the top corner on the glove side.

Granted, the shot was virtually unstoppable. However, the second goal was more of the same. Tyler Seguin beat Georgiev to the glove side, with Georgiev late to react to the shot.

Moving forward, it remains to be seen if quick shots to the glove side will become a trend for opponents facing Georgiev. Of course, Duchene and Seguin are known top goal-scorers in the league. Still, the goals could raise some concerns about Georgiev’s play down the road.

Ivan stood out, among others

Ivan scored a nifty goal to put the Avs on the board in the second period. Much has been talked about Ivan since rookie camp. Now, he’s shown that he’s made significant strides this preseason.

Now, there’s little chance he’ll make the team this season. Nevertheless, Friday night’s game was an encouraging sign for the Avs’ prospect pool. Kevin Mandolese played well in the third period despite giving up a tough goal.

Other rising stars like Jere Innala and Oskar Olausson figure to be part of the up-and-coming wave of players Avs’ fans could see in the near future.