The Colorado Avalanche are hitting a rough patch-and it’s not just a blip on the radar anymore. After a red-hot start to the season, they’ve now dropped five of their last seven, and Thursday night’s 7-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens might be the low point of this recent slide.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a loss. This was the kind of game that leaves a mark.
Special Teams Collapse
The Avalanche have been leaning heavily on one of the NHL’s top penalty-killing units this season, and for good reason-it’s been a strength. But on Thursday, that edge dulled.
The Canadiens only had two power plays, but they cashed in on one of them. That alone isn’t catastrophic.
What stings is what happened when Colorado had the man advantage.
The Avs went 0-for-2 on the power play and gave up a shorthanded goal in the process. That’s a gut punch.
When your special teams are supposed to give you a leg up and instead hand the opponent momentum, it’s hard to recover. And Colorado never did.
This was one of those games where, from the opening puck drop, it felt like the Avalanche were skating uphill. Passes were off, defensive coverage was loose, and the energy just wasn’t there.
We’ve seen this team dominate opponents with speed and precision. Lately, though, they’ve been on the receiving end of that same treatment.
Playing From Behind-Again
One trend that’s becoming all too familiar: early deficits. The Avalanche have developed a bad habit of falling behind early, clawing back to make it interesting, and then running out of gas. That formula might work once or twice, but it’s not sustainable-not even for a team with as much firepower as Colorado.
Earlier in the season, giving up the first goal wasn’t a death sentence. The Avalanche had the confidence and the legs to bounce back and take control.
Now? They’re chasing games, and it’s costing them.
Yes, they’re still among the league’s best in terms of winning percentage when trailing, but that’s not a stat you want to lean on. Eventually, the comeback well runs dry. Even elite teams can’t keep spotting the opposition early leads and expect to walk away with two points.
Wedgewood’s Worst of the Year
Scott Wedgewood has been one of the season’s best stories. A career backup turned Vezina contender, he’s been nothing short of spectacular for most of the year. But Thursday was a reminder that even the best have off nights.
Wedgewood gave up seven goals on 28 shots-his toughest outing of the season by a long shot. Some of those goals were on him, no doubt.
But there were also breakdowns in front of him that left him out to dry. Defensive coverage was loose, and Montreal took full advantage.
For a guy who’s been so solid, one bad night isn’t a cause for panic. Still, when the team as a whole is struggling and your goaltender finally has a rough outing, it underscores just how out of sync everything is right now. The Avalanche aren’t just losing-they’re losing in every phase of the game.
Looking Ahead to the Olympic Break
The Olympic break can’t come soon enough for this team. The trade deadline looms, and yes, there will be questions about how Colorado might look to tweak the roster. But right now, the focus is simply on surviving this stretch and getting to the break in one piece.
Injuries have played a role-no doubt about that-but this slide goes deeper than missing a few key bodies. The Avalanche look tired, mentally and physically. The sharpness that defined their early-season dominance just isn’t there.
Before the break, they’ve got two games against the Red Wings and one against the Sharks. Winning two of those three won’t fix everything, but it would at least stabilize the ship heading into a much-needed pause.
This team has the talent, the pedigree, and the leadership to right the course. But they’ve got to stop the bleeding first.
Right now, the Avalanche look like a team in search of a reset. The good news?
One’s coming. But they’ve got three more games to get through-and they need to make them count.