The undefeated streak has come to an end. The Avalanche suffered their first regulation loss of the season on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-2 to the Boston Bruins at TD Gardens.
Boston came into this game having lost six straight games in regulation. Meanwhile, Colorado, which started the year 5-0-1, is suddenly winless in its last three games (0-1-2). And Jared Bednar’s club won’t have much time to recover, as they prepare for the first of two straight meetings against the red-hot New Jersey Devils early on Sunday.
The early stages of the game were all Colorado. The tone was set from the opening puck drop, and an Artturi Lehkonen goal at 4:26 put the Avs ahead. They continued to dominate, but couldn’t get a second goal against a lifeless Bruins team.
Given the Bruins’ losing streak, another tally could’ve helped put the Avalanche in the driver’s seat all day. Instead, bad turnovers and a momentum-shifting 37 seconds put Boston up 2-1 before the first intermission.
Neither team scored for the first 19:55 of the second period. But with 4.5 seconds remaining, another bad turnover led to a goal against that gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead heading into the break. Lehkonen scored again with 20 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Avs didn’t have much time to tie it after that.
“It’s frustrating because we had a good start but couldn’t extend the lead,” Bednar told reporters in Boston. “And then we gave up a couple of easy ones. The goal at the end of the second period was a killer.”
The Avs’ power play is mired in a 1-for-21 stretch. Against the Bruins, they didn’t score on three chances. Eventually, a struggling power play was going to catch up to them.
Scott Wedgewood got the nod in goal for the ninth straight game. He made 16 saves, as he faced just 19 shots. Colorado had 33 shots on goalie Jeremy Swayman, who stopped 31. The Avs also had another 34 shots blocked by the Bruins.
What Worked
Burns and Manson Are a Great Fit Together
I’m not sure how the season is going to unfold for the Avalanche’s blueline, but the Josh Manson and Brent Burns pairing has been surprisingly solid. The only problem is that it means a healthy Samuel Girard would have to play with Sam Malinski, which hasn’t quite worked in the past.
I like Burns and Manson’s mean streak together, and I’d be excited to see them in the playoffs when the physicality is ramped up. Let’s hope Manson can stay relatively healthy. He’s had a great start to the season.
What Didn’t
Starting Wedgewood Is a Bit Puzzling
I’m not usually one to criticize coaching decisions this early into the season. It’s October. There is plenty of hockey left to be played, and this is the time to experiment. That includes the power play lineup.
But starting Wedgewood in this game is a little confusing. Wedgewood wasn’t all that great in his last start and finally gave up the crease for the first time since the season began. Trent Miner fared well in his relief appearance and probably should’ve been given this game. If you’re not starting Miner against a team on a six-game losing streak before the 10-game mark, then you’re basically committing to never playing him.
Could they go with Miner in New Jersey instead? It’s a possibility, I guess. But the Devils have won seven straight, and Wedgewood has been incredible against that team in his career.
It would’ve been nice to give Wedgewood a mental break against the Bruins. He’s been great all year but he deserves a night off. Otherwise, he’s playing back to back and starting four games in six days if he also has to handle duties against the Devils on Tuesday at Ball Arena.
The only scenario I can think of that makes this remotely fine is if the staff knows Mackenzie Blackwood is ready to play on Tuesday. But even in that case, Wedgewood is playing back to back early games, and would enter Sunday’s game having allowed four against Utah, four against Carolina in less than a period, and another three v.s. Boston.
Goaltending is the one thing you don’t want to take too many risks with. We’ve seen how a talented Avs roster can tank because of a bad goalie, and I’m not sure if you want to run Wedgewood completely out of gas this early in the season.
