|
No defense for Avs in sloppy loss to Predators |
|
|
Rick Sadowski
 Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
|
|
|
Now we get to see how the Avalanche responds to a rare loss, only its second in 14 games this season.
"We are not going to be at our best every night and if anyone thought we were going to have only one loss all season, they’re crazy, so this is one to put behind us and go forward," center Matt Duchene said after the Avalanche's 6-4 loss Wednesday night to Nashville at the Pepsi Center.
The Avalanche, which outscored teams 19-9 during a six-game winning streak, will take a 12-2 record into Friday night's home game against Calgary.
No, goalie Semyon Varlamov wasn't at his best against the Predators. He allowed five goals on 27 shots before Gabriel Bourque sealed the deal by scoring into an empty net with 17.5 seconds to play. Varlamov had limited teams to two goals or fewer in eight of his previous nine starts, the exception being the 4-2 loss to Detroit on Oct. 17.
Hey, give the Predators credit. Goalie Carter Hutton, playing because Pekka Rinne is sidelined with a hip ailment, made enough good stops among his 27 saves to give his team a chance to win. The Predators have gone 2-0-1 in the first three games of a seven-game, 17-day trip that doesn't end until Nov. 15 in Pittsburgh.
The Predators got a big performance from Colin Wilson, who collected two goals and two assists after getting one goal and four assists in the first 14 games. Nashville also went 2-for-2 on power plays against the best penalty-killing team in the NHL and won 34 of 57 faceoffs (60 percent).
The Avalanche power play? Colorado went 0-for-2 and is in a 1-for-15 slump with the man advantage over the past six games. This team really could use an effective power-play quarterback.
Wilson broke a 4-4 tie at 7:34 of the third period after a turnover by PA Parenteau. Officially, the Avalanche had six giveaways; Nashville had two.
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said his team just made too many mistakes throughout the game and didn't give Varlamov much chance to make saves.
"Unfortunately for us we made not only one mistake on (Wilson's winning) goal, we made three mistakes in my opinion and the puck wound up in our net," Roy said. "I just think we need to manage our game better. Instead of keeping our game simple, we were forcing things and it cost us the game."
The Avalanche rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 4-2 deficits, tying the game 4-4 at 4:23 of the third period on a spectacular goal by Duchene, who had two assists to go along with his 10th goal of the young season.
"We didn't play well defensively," Roy said. "We didn't play as well as normal as a unit. We were not good protecting the front of our net. We made some bad decisions on our breakouts and along the wall. It's a team loss."
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog came close to tying the game with 5:30 remaining in the third period, but he clanged a back-handed shot off the crossbar.
"It's a bump in the road," Landeskog said of the loss. "It's going to be good for us. It's going to be a learning experience and it's good for us to know that it's not enough just to show up."
*****
The Predators have been one of the league's better defensive teams, one that usually gives the Avalanche a hard time. They are now 5-2-1 in their past eight visits to Denver.
"I thought our offense was great," Duchene said. "I thought our offense played well and I don't just mean our forwards. We had a lot of chances, their goalie played pretty well. And what went wrong was our team defense; forwards and (defensemen), didn’t play well.
“(The Predators) are a good team, they have some good offensive power. I find it’s either a game like this or it’s 1-0 or 2-1. There’s no happy medium with them. They have a lot of skill and were well-coached tonight. They had a good game plan against us. I mean, it’s unfortunate. We were a little lax in our own end, we didn’t quite have the killer instinct we’ve had all season and it cost us a little bit tonight so it’s tough.”
*****
It didn't help the Avalanche cause that defenseman Ryan Wilson sustained an apparent back injury in the first period and didn't return. Roy didn't have an update on him after the game.
Also, defenseman Erik Johnson wasn't available for the first 10 minutes of the third period. He was assessed a 10-minute misconduct after the second period ended for handing his broken stick to a fan.
Seems a bit harsh, but it's a rule.
*****
Predators coach Barry Trotz wasn't happy with Avalanche left wing Jamie McGinn for his hit against rookie defenseman Seth Jones late in the first period. McGinn was given a charging minor for hitting Jones into the end boards behind the Nashville net. The Predators responded with a power-play goal from Craig Smith to grab a 2-1 lead with 52.8 seconds left in the period.
"You could see Seth was putting the brakes on, he’s got his back turned, he’s exactly what we talk about being a vulnerable player," Trotz said. "McGinn takes the two or three hard steps and then I thought he left his feet. My opinion doesn’t matter, it’s what the league sees. I just thought he hunted him out and he was a vulnerable player, and that’s what we’re trying to take out of the game."
Jones still managed to log 26:23 in ice time.
"My face kind of went into the boards -- my teeth a little bit -- but my head was fine," he said.
Join the Discussion:
»