Paul Stastny has returned to form. David Jones is having a career year. The rest of the Avalanche are on notice.
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The Avalanche continued their atrocious slide since the All Star Break, losing 12 of 13 since Paul Stastny and Kevin Shattenkirk represented Colorado amongst the NHL elite.
Shattenkirk is gone to St Louis along with talented power forward Chris Stewart. Stastny has picked up his game, but not his team. And now fans are beginning to question whether Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco, general manager Greg Sherman and president Pierre Lacroix deserve to keep their jobs past this lost season.
The issues are so deep with this team (time of possession, too many penalties, uninspired offensive play, inability to clear the defensive zone, etc.) that the formerly bright future now looks terribly dim. When the Avalanche were leading the NHL in scoring, their defensive deficiencies were less glaring. Now Colorado is getting dominated in all phases of the game
A light schedule this week may help the boys in burgundy to refocus, but barring a series of minor miracles this March is going to be a tough month for the Avalanche.
Tuesday, March 1st @ San Jose Sharks (8:30 MST)
Nobody likes to play in San Jose, least of all the Avalanche.
Colorado skated even with the Sharks on their home turf in a first round playoff exit last season, but regular season games in the Shark Tank have been brutal for the Avalanche in recent years.
Why, just a couple of weeks ago the Avs got pummeled 4-0 in San Jose by the thuggish Sharks, and there is no reason to believe this trip to Cali will be any different. Especially with San Jose on a six-game winning streak.
PREDICTION: Avalanche 2, Sharks 5
Saturday, March 5th vs Edmonton Oilers (8:00 MST)
Losing 5-1 to the West-worst Oilers at home last week was rock-bottom for the Avalanche. Colorado logged 39 shots and scored just once. A terrible early whistle with a loose puck in front of the Edmonton net robbed the Avs of a chance to get back in the game down 2-0, and then the Oilers took advantage of their ref-assisted good fortune to pile on the goals.
The Edmonton defense is categorically terrible. It is the second worst in the Western Conference… second only to the Avalanche. If Colorado can’t score a flurry of goals with their team pride on the line against a truly bad team, then it may be time to call up a cadre of Lake Erie Monsters to replace these underachieving Avalanche forwards.
PREDICTION: Avalanche 5, Oilers 4
**BONUS COVERAGE**
Craig Anderson is tearing it up in Ottawa, going 3-1 in four starts as a Senator. Chris Stewart has scored 6 goals in as many games (4 on the power play) since being traded to the Blues. Kevin Shattenkirk has been +3 with 3 assists in St Louis.
Meanwhile, Brian Elliot has allowed 9 goals in two starts for the Avalanche. Jay McClement has logged a handful of shots and is -1 since coming over from the Blues. Erik Johnson has been +1 with 1 goal and 2 assists in five games with Colorado.
Right now, the trades that were designed to “shake up†the Avalanche and get them winning have only succeeded in sending talented players elsewhere in return for less.
