Avalanche fight through missing bodies but fall in Los Angeles

The Colorado Avalanche inched their way closer to the conclusion of this year’s regular season in a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The list of scratches by the Avs was lengthy and it put the Avs behind the eight ball coming in against the league’s best home team this season.

Unlike the Avalanche, Los Angeles still had something to play for as they needed four points out of their final four games to secure home-ice advantage against the Edmonton Oilers in Round 1 when the playoffs open next weekend.

With meaningful stakes in the game, the Kings came out and grabbed a 2-0 lead early in the game that set the tone for the Avs to have to chase. They did a decent job of fighting back as they got it to 2-1 by the end of the first period. A Val Nichushkin goal early in the 2nd period tied the game, but it was the last time the score would be even.

The Kings put their foot back down and added two more goals before the end of the middle frame, giving the Kings a 4-2 lead heading to the third period. It got a little funky at the end after another 6v5 goal by the Avs that made it 5-4. They couldn’t get the equalizer and it nearly got spicy with Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper going for the empty net and the ultimate ex-Avs goal but he missed the net and things ended without anymore goals on the board.

Brock Nelson scored twice, Nichushkin once, and Sam Malinski added another to continue his late-season scoring tear. Mackenzie Blackwood got hung out to dry multiple times and had five goals hung on him on just 33 shots on goal.

It was a predictable outcome for one team playing for something they cared about and one team whose primary star power was in Loveland watching their captain play rehab games in the AHL.

Let’s talk about it a bit more, I suppose.

More Mackenzie Blackwood questions for the Avalanche

Blackwood’s play has taken a dip the last several weeks, a reality heightened by the 7-0-1 stretch by backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, and tonight didn’t do a ton to assuage any fears that Blackwood’s game isn’t in a healthy spot heading into the first postseason experience of his career.

Blackwood allowed five goals on 32 shots, good for a save percentage of .844. The numbers don’t look good, but you go back and watch through the goals and you notice that all five are from the middle of the ice and the presence of Avalanche defenders is kind of all over the place.

This wasn’t a stout defensive effort by the Avs, which is no surprise with no Devon Toews, Cale Makar, Josh Manson, or Ryan Lindgren. If all four of those players are healthy next week, they will be in the lineup for Game 1 in Dallas. Needless to say, this wasn’t the lineup the Avs are likely to run out there for a playoff game, even if there are a run of injuries.

Blackwood was going to have to be stout. After allowing two goals on the first two shots, Blackwood’s play took a significant turn for the better. He was excellent until the third goal, and when you go through each of them, you see a defense lacking in execution and effort.

I mean, look at the fifth goal, which became the game-winning goal. This is horrible defense from each of Sam Girard, Sam Malinski, and Martin Necas.

I think Wedgewood’s strong run of form and Blackwood’s weaker play recently will make this feel worse than it is, but it is a conversation that is slowly growing louder in Denver.

Sam Malinski or Erik Johnson?

While there is the possibility that Colorado’s full defense is healthy next weekend for the start of their series against Dallas, Lindgren and Manson are currently legitimately hurt and not just getting rest, as Toews and Makar were doing tonight.

If those players are good to go, they will be in the lineup. Add in Girard, and you have a conversation between Malinski and Johnson for which player will get the sixth D spot in Game 1. The choice comes down to two very different profiles.

While both are right-handed, they bring very different skillsets. Malinski is an offensive-minded player whose offense went dry for much of the year but following his goal tonight, he has nine points in his last 23 games. That’s not a world-beating pace, but for a third-pairing defenseman who doesn’t get many power play opportunities, it’s a solid pace.

His defensive game has been a revelation this year, though he went through a major lull in December and January. Malinski’s game took a significant step forward after he was not dealt during the trade deadline roster reallocation and he has tried hard to solidify a spot.

Johnson came over from the Flyers as a last-minute addition just before the deadline passed and it was thought he would be more of a depth option. Instead, Johnson, whose game looked awful in Philadelphia as it appeared he just might be at the end of his great career, has experienced a revival of sorts in his second stint in Denver.

Offensively, Johnson hasn’t done much with just one assist in 13 games, but his underlying numbers are incredible. With Johnson on the ice, here are the percentages at 5v5:

• Shot attempts: 57.91%
• Shots on goal: 63.78%
• Scoring chances: 56.18%
• High-danger chances: 58.67%
• Expected goals: 67.38%
• Goals: 66.67%

Amazingly, Johnson has been on the ice for extremes in both on-ice shooting percentage (5.08, which is very low) and on-ice save percentage (95.52, which is very high). Johnson’s ability to chip in on the penalty kill is more valuable than Malinski’s near-non-existent special team contributions, so that could also help.

There are a lot of different lineup conversations to have, but right now, the Avs are facing a classic “good problem” with their third-pairing situation on defense.