Visions of a championship disappear in the blink of an eye — like shooting Stars.
The reality hits like a Josh Manson check.
The uncomfortable question lingers on the Ball Arena concourse, in the seats and perhaps even in the heads of those on the ice.
What if the Avs just aren’t good enough? This reality exists after Colorado fell 2-1 in a shootout to the Stars on Wednesday night.
The facts are not fun to face because the numbers don’t add up.
The Avs outshot the Stars. They outplayed the Stars. They were more aggressive. Their defense, pantsed by the Penguins a few days prior, was buttoned up.
And yet, as is more often the case against Dallas than not, they lost.
Despite all the changes the Avs have made over the past three seasons, they cannot get over on the Stars.
Wednesday gave off USA-Canada gold-medal-game vibes. The Avs were in charge, controlling the tempo, but were unable to solve goalie Jake Oettinger, save for a single laser by Cale Makar and a second shot by the defenseman that ricocheted off the post in the third period.
Play like this, it goes, and you win nine out of 10 times. But the Avs don’t. Not against the Stars. When they play seven times, they lose four. When they square off in six, they win two.
That is the Cliffs Notes summary of their playoff series the past two seasons.
The Avs are deeper. And, as of a week ago, have a power play solution in Nazem Kadri.
Yet, nothing changes. They stare down the Stars, don’t flinch.
But when you go to the judges’ scorecards, the ref raises Dallas’ arm in the center of the ring.
There is one game remaining at Dallas on April 4. The team that crushed the Avs’ dreams the past two postseasons holds an edge, slight as it is, with the teams on a collision course in the second round of the playoffs.
This is not older brother vs. little brother. It is twins dropping gloves, and one is tougher than the other.
And there is no obvious life hack for the Avs to get over this hump.
Go ahead, try to point to one thing. It’s all the little things. And yes, that should make the Avs faithful squirm.
Because when it comes down to a single big play, the Stars make more.
After the game, Makar talked without a trace of anger. He was not interested in making sense of the math or how Colorado could execute at such a high level and walk away with an L.
“You want to win. But it’s not a do-or-die game right now,” said Makar, whose Avs have seen the Stars shave their 12-point division lead to 2 over the past two months. “For us, the main thing was making sure we were getting back to our game and feeling good about where we are at throughout the lineup.”
This explanation would have made more sense when playing the Penguins on Monday. But because the Avs were clobbered, Dallas became a night to recalibrate?
Not buying it. As unbothered as the Avs were with Wednesday’s result, this hurts.
Leaves a mark. Embeds worms into the psyche.
The players were not interested in performing an autopsy on what happened — buses and planes to catch and such — but did not have much in the way of answers.
The probability of the Avs winning was high. The probability of it working out for the Stars was greater. This matchup remains must-see TV, but Hallmark movies have less predictable endings.
“I thought it was a good game by us. It was a good process. You are not going to win every night even when you play well,” said star Nathan MacKinnon, striking a much more conciliatory tone than after Monday’s mess when he questioned strategies and lineups. “Lots of positives to take away onto the road trip.”
Now is not the time for try-hard nights. It’s do-good time.
The Avs require a sense of urgency on two levels.
First, it has been a long time since they have looked like the NHL’s best team. They hold that title in name only over the past 27 games, posting a 13-12-2 record. Getting Gabe Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen back will help, but should not be viewed as a magic elixir.
The Avs, offering shades of the Nuggets, have defensive issues. They are not consistent, nothing like they were during the first 40 games. Injuries, the Olympics, the mini-reno on the roster, all have contributed to a long stretch of mediocrity.
But reasons start to sound like excuses in March.
And the Avs, as composed, have no reason not to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.
They have a better roster than the Stars. It’s time to show they have a better team.
“I think it’s going to be something different every night,” explained coach Jared Bednar on what the difference could be in a playoff series against Dallas. “It’s a game of mistakes. You have to capitalize on a couple of chances you create and make sure they don’t on theirs. There is only going to be a handful of scoring chances. So you have to have every aspect of your game in order.”
Right now, the Avs don’t.
When it comes to facing Dallas, hard-fought means short-lived. Being good is not good enough.
The Avs have roughly a month to get right.
Otherwise, this year’s clever playoff slogan will be obvious: Here We Go Again.