By Jordan Long
On Saturday, the Colorado Avalanche allowed 10 goals in a game against the Montréal Canadians in a 10-1 loss. That was the most goals the opponent’s have ever scored since Quebec moved to Colorado to become the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 1995-1996 season. The next night Colorado played better defensively against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs only scored one goal and Colorado won the second game of a back-to-back 3-1. Colorado sits at 11-15-1 with 23 points, worst in the Central Division and tied with Arizona for the least amount of points in the entire league. The Avalanche have struggled on defense the whole season.
The Avalanche aren’t stopping the opponents from scoring. Opposing teams score 3.15 goals per game. The only team worse than them are the Dallas Stars who give up 3.20 goals per game. It is difficult to win games when the rival team dictates the play and goes into the defensive zone. The Avalanche can’t seem to poke check the puck away or even check them off the puck. This allows them to have scoring chances and many times it ends with the puck in the back of the net. The goaltenders can’t do anything about it since the team in front of them isn’t doing their job.
The power play kill for the Avalanche has been poor. When Colorado is called for a penalty, the other team takes advantage. They work it around the ice to find the best shot possible. When that occurs, it is a power play goal. Colorado kills off 79.2% of the penalties they take, ranking 24th in the NHL, meaning only 6 teams are worse.
The Avalanche haven’t addressed their defensive problems yet this season. It has shown in the standings. If Colorado was improved defensively, they might be in the playoff chase. Instead they are at the bottom of the league. Colorado needs to address their poor defense, otherwise Colorado might have the best chance in the NHL lottery of receiving the number one pick in next year’s draft.
What do you think of Colorado’s poor defense?
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