From one moment to the next, the outlook on the Avalanche’s season can deteriorate from apprehension to hopelessness, or just as easily it can swivel from existential dread to ecstatic amnesia. The defending champion Avs are testing their fans on almost a nightly basis, as they simultaneously test their own resolve.
So it was fitting that in a matter of minutes Tuesday night, a Ball Arena sellout redirected its jeers. At second intermission, scattered boos from frustrated Avalanche faithful showered the players on their way to the dressing room. By the time nine minutes remained in the third period, those boos had reached a cacophony and changed targets: the officiating crew for an overturned would-be game-tying goal. Obvious offsides, but who cared?
J.T. Compher tied it for real one minute later, but a Panthers power play goal with 3:30 remaining ended the party: The Avs lost 5-4 for their sixth defeat in the last seven games, falling to ninth place in the Western Conference in point percentage. Whether the season outlook is alleviated by the fact that Colorado (20-16-3) rallied from 3-0 and 4-1 deficits is in the eye of the beholder.
Does the comeback change anything for coach Jared Bednar?
“No. It’s too late,” he said. “I like what we did, but the message has been recently we’ve got to play a full 60. Got to expect to play a full 60 to win. It’s a tough league.”
The game-winning goal was credited to Matthew Tkachuk, but the puck took an unlucky bounce off Evan Rodrigues’ skate with 10 seconds left on the power play as Florida hammered away at a defiant Alexandar Georgiev.
Mikko Rantanen was still agitated in the dressing room afterward at how it transpired. He was in the box for interference, shortly after officials missed Florida’s apparent high-stick to the face of Compher.
“Can’t be more clear. High stick,” Rantanen said. “We got it called, the exact same call, two games ago or something. I’m not saying anything about the refs. I’m just saying it’s a high stick. That’s all I’m saying. It hits the guy in the face.”
“I didn’t like the sequence at all,” said Bednar, who also thought the interference call against Rantanen was a case of potential embellishment.
Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Compher had scored in the third to erase the 4-1 hole after a middle frame when the Panthers outshot the Avalanche 17-4. At five-on-five, Colorado was out-attempted 24-6 in the second period. Tkachuk scored 52 seconds before intermission for a not-quite gut punch.
The Avalanche power play finished 0-for-3, including an 0-for-2 second period during which Florida cleared the zone three times in a 50-second stretch. Colorado conceded goals on both penalty kill attempts.
The more troubling issue: There was nothing flattering about how the defense conceded the goals. Nine minutes in, Anton Lundell entered the zone with a 1-on-2 dump and chase against Cale Makar and Devon Toews. The top pairing allowed Lundell to skate through them, Toews lost a battle for the puck in the trapezoid, and as Makar circled back to the net front, Alexandar Barkov arrived with Florida reinforcements. He got behind Cale Makar and backhanded the finish past Georgiev.
“I just didn’t talk to (Toews) there,” Makar said. “He was grabbing the puck, so I thought he was going to get a poke on it. Just keep skating, then I just tried to return to the net front. By that time, just made a pretty weak stick play.”
Then both second-pairing blue-liners made costly mistakes. An uninspiring Erik Johnson giveaway in the offensive zone led to a rush goal for Brandon Montour. After a phantom hooking call on Artturi Lehkonen, Sam Girard mishandled the puck in the slot of Colorado’s own zone. Florida cashed in with a power play goal.
Girard was also on the wrong end of the game’s turning point in the second period. After Makar’s stick-handling drew a penalty, an empty-net rebound fell on Girard’s stick as the power play expired. But he whiffed on a bouncing puck, and Colorado’s chance to slim Florida’s lead to 3-2 fizzled.
In the last 20 games, the Avs have been outscored 20-8 in the first period and have led only twice at the first intermission.
How about the second period? They have been outscored 10-2 in the last five games.
“There’s just a lot of areas of our game right now that aren’t detailed enough,” Makar said.
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