3 Takeaways From the Avalanche’s 6-3 Loss to the Maple Leafs

The last time we saw the Colorado Avalanche, they were easily shellacking the lowly Calgary Flames 7-3 to get back into the win column. On Saturday, they hosted a talented, hungry Toronto Maple Leafs looking to show that last season was a fluke.

If that was their mission, they certainly achieved it against the Avalanche. It was a fun, back-and-forth affair until the Maple Leafs got two late-second period goals to propel them to a 6-3 victory in Colorado.

Maple Leaf Star Power Won Out

There was a lot of star power in this game, but the Maple Leafs’ star power won out. Auston Matthews was excellent, scoring twice and adding a pair of assists in just over 22 minutes. William Nylander was even better, notching five points of his own.

Perhaps the difference-maker came midway through the third period. With the game 4-3 in favor of the Maple Leafs, Devon Toews broke in with a shorthanded opportunity only to be denied by an excellent defensive play by young superstar Gavin McKenna. The play immediately swung the other way, where Matthews buried his chance and made it 5-3.

Nathan MacKinnon had a strong start with two first-period goals but was clearly overmatched by the two superstar Maple Leafs. If nothing else, it is one of those fun games where fans just sit back and watch the best in the world go at it.

An Ugly Night for the Power Play

This isn’t a season ago when the power play was the lone question mark on an otherwise dominant team. They are still tied for 12^th in the league at a 22.2% success rate even after the ugly showing on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.

That said, going 0-for-5 against an aging and clearly-not-the-same Sergei Bobrovsky feels rough. In a game like this, where it was within one goal until late in the third period, a power-play goal could have swung the momentum into the Avalanche’s favor.

Expecting them to score with the man advantage every game isn’t realistic. But if they have five power plays per night, maybe it isn’t all that far-fetched.

Blackwood May Not Be the Guy

The Avalanche faced an interesting situation in net coming into the season. It is clear they want Mackenzie Blackwood to take over the lion’s share of the starts this season, and he has been given them so far.

Unfortunately, the results haven’t always been there, and Saturday was a bad game. Yes, defensive lapses left him staring down open shooters, but there are times when your goaltender simply has to make the stop. Instead, he let in five goals on 22 shots and couldn’t make a big save when they needed him.

For now, they have an excellent backup to turn to, but Scott Wedgewood is 34 years old and not the long-term answer. They need better performances by Blackwood, and they need to start seeing them soon.

Even Good Teams Have Bad Nights

It’s just a bad night for a good team, one playing with a heavy heart. While it is never good to give up six at home, these things can and do happen. You simply have to forget about it and move on to the next one, something the Avalanche have been good about in recent seasons.

They may have also been caught looking ahead: Tuesday and Wednesday will be a home-and-home with the hated Dallas Stars, with early divisional bragging rights on the line. The Avalanche will need to be at their best if they are going to come away on the right side of those games.