Being Down Early Taking Its Toll

So far this season, the Avalanche have given up the first goal in 12 of the 18 games that they have played.  For them to have only 4 regulation losses is a testament to their ability to stay in games and not give up.  In a previous blog, I equated this to an old Ali “Rope-a-Dope” fight.  In a lot of the games where the Avs have come back from a deficit, they have had the clear stamina advantage late, which allowed them to impose their will on the other team.  Last night against Edmonton may have been the first indication for us as fans that the constant struggle to come from behind is starting to wear on this team.

The first sign of a more tired club is taking unnecessary penalties.  There were some hooking and interference calls last night that were the product of the Avs players not skating hard enough.  They also had 2 too many men penalties against them during the game, which is just a lack of mental focus.  Too many men penalties are like false starts in football.  They are completely mental and avoidable, but they happen all too often.  During the penalty kill last night, the 4 skaters left on the ice looked out of place, they had no aggressiveness toward the puck carrier, they lost all of the battles along the boards, they let the Oilers pass wherever they wanted, and this led to 4 powerplay goals against them on only 7 chances.  The 5th goal by Edmonton might as well have been a powerplay goal because it happened right after the penalty had expired.

Craig Anderson also had a rough night in net.  He did not look nearly as sharp as he did in the previous starts he has made this season.  Yes, the skaters had their problems, but I know Andy would like to have a couple of those goals back.  His lateral movement was off, and he did not track the puck as well as he should have.  There have not been many instances of Anderson not seeing a shot at all on its way to  the net this year, but it happened at least twice last night.  He is not going to be a superstar every night, but hopefully he can bounce right back on Wednesday with a strong performance.

Coming from behind to win a game is entertaining for the fans, but it is not a long-term winning formula that they want to get used to struggling with each night.  There are too many talented teams out there that are going to be able to lock the game down with a lead (aka playing like Minnesota).  Edmonton is a good example of this.  They may not have the best record, and they have not played well on the road so far this year, but they are still plenty dangerous.  I am not sure if there is a lack of mental or physical preparation by the team, but they have had too many games were it has taken them 7-8 minutes into the first period to wake up and get their legs under them.  The Avalanche need to start coming out of the gate with more energy and intensity.

- Next game Wednesday night in Chicago at 6:30pm mtn.