Avalanche losing streak hits six games

Hoo baby are the Avs in a pickle now. And if you know me, you know how I feel about pickles.

I guess the upside is that Colorado responded to a five-game losing streak earlier this year by ripping off a 9-0-2 stretch. Following tonight’s loss to the San Jose Sharks, they’ve now lost six straight and finally managed to lose their way out of third place in the Central Division. Given the lead they had on the Dallas Stars just 10 days ago, this was an impressive feat of futility.

Maybe the most frustrating part of the scene tonight was we’ve seen this one several times over. Like Hollywood, the Avalanche look like they’ve run out of ideas and are instead recreating their greatest hits. This time, they went to the pre-Christmas well in getting down 4-1 like they did against the Arizona Coyotes before mounting a third period comeback.

Colorado was able to repeat some of that tonight, including the pulling of starting goaltending Philipp Grubauer in favor of backup Pavel Francouz, who is in town while Semyon Varlamov nurses the dreaded lower-body injury. Francouz once again stabilized the game for Colorado and gave them a chance to comeback. The only goal he gave up was a series of ridiculous flukes but they all count the same.

Tyson Jost got things going a bit tonight as he scored two goals, though you’d still like to see him actually beat a goaltender. His first goal was entirely the exceptional work from J.T. Compher and the second was a deflection on a point shot from Sam Girard. That second line was actually going pretty well tonight and to see them rewarded with multiple goals just may kickstart them. To see the Avs lose in which they got two goals from the black hole that has been their second line is indicative of the whack-a-mole style of problems they’re dealing with right now.

Colorado finishes their four-game homestand on Friday night with the New York Rangers coming to town before they embark on a brutal five-game road trip to the Canada. Friday night has turned into must-win territory.

Takeaways from the game

• There’s going to be a whole grip of negativity in here tonight. The Avalanche were heavy on blah dudes tonight and very short on whoa dudes. Colorado’s top line was especially bereft of whoa dudes tonight as it looked like Nathan MacKinnon was the only one who really came to play. Colorado isn’t going to be successful when their top guys are heavy on the blah.
• I was especially disappointed in the play of Erik Johnson and Sam Girard tonight. Johnson started the game absolutely on fire and it simply failed to carry on throughout the evening. Girard’s play felt like nothing short of disastrous. He was turning the puck over with regularity and his decision-making seemed to abandon him at the bench. He managed to snag an assist on the final power play of the game but there were so many terrible moments leading up to it that it didn’t feel like much of a positive by that point. The Avs expect and need better from both Johnson and Girard if they’re going to find their winning ways.
• Another defenseman who rode the strugglebus tonight was Tyson Barrie. On one particularly notable shift, he cratered an offensive possession with poor decision making and then overskated the puck after Grubauer had left it for him and it turned in to an Evander Kane goal. It was a total fiasco and in typical Barrie fashion he managed a little spectacular on the offensive side with a great snipe for Colorado’s third goal. That goal pushed Barrie into a tie with John-Michael Liles for the highest scoring defenseman in Avalanche history.
• Speaking of Grubauer…what was that, man? The door is wide open for him to lock down the starting goaltender job. WIDE OPEN. Instead, he’s leaving his net wide open on a weak wraparound attempt and getting himself pulled again.
• Pavel Francouz came in to relieve Grubauer and much to the relief of everyone in the building was once again on top his game. He’s taken two hard-luck losses in his two NHL appearances as he’s watched the team in front of him climb back from 4-1 deficits but he gave up the fifth goal in each game, making him the goaltender of record. Sports are cruel. Also assigning wins to one player in a team game is just asinine but I suppose this isn’t the time or place for that debate. I spent some time with Francouz postgame and will have more on him in the morning as he looks to potentially stake a claim to ownership of Colorado’s net.
• I was excited to see Matt Calvert actually beat a goaltender on Colorado’s first goal. MacKinnon made a great play and Matt Nieto generously was given a point on the play but it was really about Calvert finding the finishing touch. He’s been a guy who has created a handful of great scoring chances but can’t seem to bury them. Tonight he beat Martin Jones cleanly and it was good to see. I wrote in the takeaways after the Chicago overtime loss that scoring seemed to be there for the taking and Calvert just had to pounce. He did tonight.
• Colorado’s special teams are a total mess right now. Lots of work has been done to show that coaching’s greatest impact comes via special teams and right now the penalty kill is just broken. I mean completely broken. The power play still generates chances and could have scored a couple goals tonight so I’m less worried about that group as a whole, especially given how power play success comes in fits and spurts for basically every team. But the penalty kill for Colorado has consistently been bad enough that I’m thinking the coaching staff needs to take a long look in the mirror and ask if their combination of system and personnel is putting them in the best position to succeed in that situation. When Gabe Bourque is on the ice in a 5v3 and fails to clear the puck despite having time and space and they score seconds later, it forces you to ask the obvious: Why in the world is Gabe Bourque the guy you’re relying on in that situation? Even with Calvert in the penalty box, there were five other forwards I’d take in the blink of an eye over Bourque.
• With the penalty kill sinking like the Titanic, Bourque’s zero goals and four assists force you to wonder why not only is he the guy being relied up on the PK but why he’s in the lineup at all? Sven Andrighetto was a healthy scratch tonight in favor of Bourque and Logan O’Connor on the fourth line wings and I’ve no idea how Bourque continues to be immune from the benchings and demotions that have beset some of Colorado’s youth.
• O’Connor failed to stand out much to me at all as a whole but he made a nice play on one PK shift. That disruption is a good start for a guy who needs to find success in that area of the game to stick. I do like his speed.
• Last note of the night for me but Ryan Graves continues to impress. I’d like to see him get closer to the 15 minute mark in a few games to see if it’s a mirage or this kid can actually play. He does not appear afraid of the moment at all.