Takeaways from Colorado's overtime loss to St. Louis

After ripping off six straight wins, the Avalanche finally found their way back to the loser’s column as the St. Louis Blues came into Pepsi Center and pulled two points the hard way in a 3-2 overtime victory.

The game overall was very feisty, especially for a game in November, and it was clear the Blues were hoppin mad at the Avalanche for generally existing from the very start of the game. The Blues jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period but watched the Avalanche slowly chip away in periods two and three.

Colorado eventually tied the game in the third period and had a chance on the power play late in the third period to take the lead and potentially snag a regulation win. Jake Allen played exceptionally down the stretch and when the game went into overtime, there was a pretty good feeling the Avalanche would come out on the losing end.

That’s exactly what happened as the Avalanche made it 1:34 into the extra frame before Colton Parayko chipped a puck home for the game-winning goal. The loss ended Colorado’s winning streak but they haven’t lost in regulation since November 9 in Winnipeg.

Takeaways from the game:

• St. Louis was clearly motivated from the start to try not to fall into the trap of playing up-tempo hockey at all. They wanted to be physical and get in Colorado’s way as much as possible and it certainly worked in the first period. The Avs got involved in enough of the shenanigans in the second period to calm things down just enough to work their way back on the scoreboard.
• That Colorado found their way to being competitive in a game they were down 2-0 after the first period and physically beaten down is very encouraging. The Blues reminded Colorado a little bit of what the playoffs are all about and for the Avalanche to respond positively to that environment is only a good thing.
• Erik Johnson found himself ejected from the game after he destroyed Alex Steen on a hit that came immediately after Steen had a big hit on Nathan MacKinnon. He was ejected for elbowing but the replay pretty clearly showed it wasn’t an elbow. It was, however, pretty flush in the head. Steen did not return to the game.
• Johnson found himself suspended last season after a very different hit against Tampa Bay. How the league handles this situation will be interesting. Johnson has a history, though of a different kind than he was penalized for tonight, and he did serve a major penalty in the game, which matters. Steen not returning to the game will also have an impact on the decision as injuries are frequently given consideration when the league reviews hits.
• Colorado had been extremely fortunate in the health department on the blueline up to this point but losing Tyson Barrie and Mark Barberio to injury put the Avalanche in a tough spot. If Johnson faces any kind of suspension and neither injured player is ready to return, it could be a very suspect defensive group taking the ice against the Red Wings on Sunday.
• With Johnson out for half the game, it was mostly on the trio of Sam Girard, Ian Cole, and Nikita Zadorov to step up. They responded pretty well but Girard sure did look pretty gassed come overtime. Cole and Zadorov both were key components of the Avalanche responding to the physicality the Blues brought all night.
• Cole’s fight with Vince Dunn was kind of out of left field. Dunn had knocked down Tyson Jost, who in the process of falling accidentally hit Dunn in the head with his stick. Dunn then tried to engage Jost in a fight but Jost wasn’t interested in any of that noise and Cole stepped in. Dunn certainly couldn’t have been happy with that turn of events as Cole gave him quite the beating.
• Zadorov’s goal to get the Avalanche on the board was a thing of beauty. Big Z has had issues getting his slap shot on net over the years but he’s worked a lot this year on trying to keep the puck lower and to the corners. With Jake Allen facing a ton of traffic in front of the net, Zadorov’s shot was exactly the kind where Allen can’t track the puck and has to guess where it’s going.
• While the top line was able to tie the game in the third period on the power play, they still lacked their overall dominance of previous games. Mikko Rantanen’s game-tying goal was the only point for the line despite them combining for seven shots on goal.
• I’ve mentioned him several games in a row but Matt Nieto was really good again tonight. He turned Dunn inside-out on an excellent move to give himself a mini-breakaway but Allen came up big on the stop.
• In fact, Allen stopped three separate breakaways tonight. Nieto’s, one from Rantanen in the first period (Tarasenko scored the opening goal seconds later), and one from Landeskog on a gorgeous zone-entry in the second period.
• Not to be outdone in the meaningful save department, Semyon Varlamov came up with a monster save on a penalty shot in the second period. Oskar Sundqvist wasn’t able to find any room as Varlamov read the move and reacted in a way that left nowhere for Sundqvist to go with the puck.
• Colorado continues to be bizarrely terrible in overtime. Puck possession is a huge part of success at three-on-three so the faceoff struggles the Avalanche have had for what is now two seasons clearly are having an impact there. That said, the talent the Avalanche can throw onto the ice should still find ways to win more than it has. They only had one offensive possession in OT and didn’t manage to do anything with it. How can the top line be so dominant at even strength but so toothless with that much space?
• I really didn’t like Colorado’s fourth line tonight. I thought they were just a huge mess from the start and clearly, Jared Bednar wasn’t a fan either. Kamenev played just five minutes tonight and Andrighetto and Compher found themselves on different lines throughout the game.
• Speaking of players I thought badly struggled, Colin Wilson probably won’t enjoy watching the video breakdown of this one. He was throwing blind passes to nobody in particular, losing puck battles, and generally making a mess of the few offensive sequences his line managed tonight.
• Raw truth from tonight’s game: The Avalanche were fortunate to get the point they did.
• Colorado finished November on an 8-0-2 run, going 8-3-3 in the month overall. The Avalanche end November second in the Central Division but tied at 35 points with Nashville for the lead and top spot in the Western Conference. Next closest in the division is Winnipeg and Minnesota at 30 points each.