The Colorado Avalanche are five points behind the Minnesota Wild for the final Wildcard playoff spot with seven games left to play in the regular season. Colorado lost to both Philadelphia and Minnesota this past weekend, the two most important games to this point. The Avalanche don’t look like a playoff team and, if they fail to reach the playoffs, it might be time to let Patrick Roy go as Head Coach.
The Avalanche fired Joe Sacco after a disappointing 2013 lockout shortened season. The Avalanche went 16-25-7 for a total of 39 points missing the playoffs for the third straight year. Colorado then hired Patrick Roy on May 23rd, 2013. This was in hopes of giving Colorado a coach who would lead them into the playoffs. In his first full year behind the bench, Colorado was impressive with a record of 52-22-8 winning the Central Division. Colorado lost in game seven to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs.
The 2014-2015 season Colorado had higher expectations. They were supposed to make the playoffs and have a deeper run. They added veteran forward Jarome Iginla. Colorado ended the year 39-31-12 with 90 points but missed the playoffs. The Avalanche were determined not to let this occur again. They signed defenseman Francois Beauchemin for his experience.
The Avalanche are in danger of missing the playoffs yet again. The Colorado Avalanche have blown eight games when leading, going into the third period. Six of them have ended in regulation where they didn’t even get a point while two went into overtime. That leads the league in blown games. Colorado seems to play solid defense for two periods. When Semyon Varlamov saves a shot and there is a rebound the Avalanche clears it out of their own zone. They don’t allow many odd man rushes. The third period is a different story. There are too many odd man rushes and when there is a rebound, the opponents’ forwards skate in to shoot the puck in the net. The Colorado defensemen don’t seem to pay enough attention.
This is ineffective coaching. Colorado tries to make adjustments heading into the third period but whatever they are, they don’t work. If Colorado fails to make the playoffs Patrick Roy should be gone. They can’t keep playing the same way in the third. It is unacceptable. General Manager Joe Sakic will have a tough decision at the end of the year but it’s best to let Roy go and have a fresh face behind the bench.
What should Colorado do if they fail to make the playoffs?
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