The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the past week with the Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche revealed an unsettling Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde nature through four uneven games to finish with a 2-2 record in the last seven days.

THE GOOD

1. Despite only winning two of the last four games, the Colorado Avalanche still lead in the Wild Card race, although they own only a one point advantage over the Nashville Predators. Unfortunately, Colorado now trails the St. Louis Blues by 11 points for the third seed in the Central Division.

2. While not strictly Avalanche news, the Minnesota Wild fired coach Mike Yeo this weekend and named John Torchetti to the interim position. Torchetti had been the coach of the Wild’s AHL affiliate. The Wild lost 13 of their last 14 matches. For those who don’t remember, Yeo coached the Wild when Matt Cooke took out Tyson Barrie with a knee-on-knee hit in the postseason two years ago and seemed less concerned with the cheap shot than with the potential suspension for his enforcer.

Step into the way-back machine and one will find Matt Cooke was the thug who challenged Steve Moore to a fight in 2004 which Cooke lost, leading to Todd Bertuzzi’s revenge hit in the subsequent game that ended Moore’s hockey career.

3. Veteran forward Jarome Iginla powered through the past week earning five points through two goals and three assists on diminished ice time, proving effective effort can still be garnered from seasoned players.

4. Forward Blake Comeau kicked it up a notch with a game-winning goal against the Ottawa Senators as well as a game winning shoot out goal against the Detroit Red Wings. Comeau has garnered three goals and 4 assists in the last eight games. Along with his assist against Ottawa, Comeau earned the most valuable three points of the week. The only other three point guys for the week came from three assists each for linemate and fellow forward Carl Soderberg and defenseman Tyson Barrie.

5. Colorado stole a win over the much-hated Detroit Red Wings on the second night of back-to-back games. It’s always a good night when the Avalanche beat Detroit but the team owes goaltender Semyon Varlamov much of the credit. He stopped 43 of 45 shots earning a .956 save percentage and allowed only one shot in net during the shoot out. The Avalanche now boast a 6-2 record in back to back games and have a 5-4 road record since the start of January.

6. The Avalanche have thrown a lot more pucks at the net this past week, averaging 28 shots per match.

7. Colorado managed to wrestle four points on their intense three game road trip and hopefully have reversed their fortunes.

THE BAD

1. Earning one point in a four game home stand hurt, especially if the Avalanche want to put some distance between themselves and the other teams chasing them for a Wild Card spot. While they are currently ahead in the standings, Colorado has played three more games than Nashville, and four more games than the three other contenders. Every point is precious if they want to make the post season a reality.

2. Against Detroit, the Avalanche were outshot 45-21 and were forced to block another 25 shots. Just because Varlamov is 4-1-1 with a .957 save percentage in games defending 40 or more shots doesn’t mean the team should allow that much pressure on their end of the ice.

3. Colorado went 0-4 on the power play at home against Vancouver. While special teams tend to suffer on the road, successful teams generally dominate in power play situations on their home ice.

4. All Star forward Matt Duchene should NEVER acquire all three penalties in a game the Avalanche need to win, like he did against Buffalo. The team needs their point leader on the ice, not in the box.

THE UGLY

1. Why did the Avalanche start Varlamov for all three games in the four day road trip? He started in both the back to back games and then was in net 36 hours after the Detroit overtime shoot out win? Most teams would have given him one of the games off. And it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened if Buffalo hadn’t scored on their first two shots on him. The game could have played out quite differently if Colorado hadn’t fallen behind by two scores in the first five minutes of the game as the team played well for the rest of the game.

2. Watching the Buffalo Sabres rookie sensation Jack Eichel skate end to end to score the first goal of the game without so much as a bump was ugly. However, wondering how the Avalanche lost their ability to forecheck during the All Star break presents even uglier questions. Can they generate and sustain pressure in the offensive end? Was their November/December run reflective of their ability or a brief moment of excellence? Can they make a pass without turning the puck over? Can they learn to not play down to their competition?

3. Colorado owns a woeful 0-11 record when on a 5-3 advantage this season. That’s a big goose egg. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Against Buffalo, the Avalanche had a two man advantage for two minutes with a little over six minutes remaining in the game and only managed one shot. ONE. Ugly doesn’t even come close to describing it. Abysmal seems more appropriate.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. Coach Patrick Roy mixed up the lines on the road, splitting up forwards Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon. Look for more changes if the team continues to struggle.

2. With two weeks until the trade deadline, look for more rumors about possible wheeling and dealing. Because the Avalanche have maxed out their contract limit, they won’t be able to pick up a player without waiving or trading someone they already have signed.