So-so goaltending and multiple defensive breakdowns usually suggest the Avalanche has little chance to win, which is why Colorado has become a trade-deadline seller at the midpoint of the season.
Tuesday at the , however, Colorado’s best offensive players were as good as advertised against the mighty , and if nothing else, the bipartisan crowd enjoyed itself in what has become the house of horrors for Avalanche faithful.
(two goals) and (two assists) — the former on the trade block and the latter the building block of the future — gave the Avs an opportunity for a rare win in this forgetful season, but ultimately Colorado’s first four-goal game in more than a month couldn’t make up for too many miscues by goalie and his defensemen in a 6-4 loss.
The Avs, who fell to 4-19-1 in their last 24 games, blew a third-period lead for the second consecutive time at home. They led 4-3 and were in control after two periods, despite Varlamov allowing three goals on 15 shots.
“Same story. Couple turnovers, we don’t get the puck out,” Avs defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “We got to learn. Enough is enough. We keep saying it and saying it. At one point, it’s going to have to stop.”
Chicago rallied behind Vince Hinostroza’s two third-period goals in the back-and-forth, highly entertaining game that Avalanche general manager and his staff witnessed from afar. Along with the team’s scouts throughout North America and Europe, Sakic and his staff were meeting in California, and they will join the players and coaches in Anaheim before Thursday’s game against the Ducks.
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On television, the Avs’ brass liked what they saw through two periods.
“Through 40 minutes, I’m liking the game. It’s a hard-fought, competitive game with a good pace to it. It was a lot of fun,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “(But) again, we have a couple mental mistakes that costs us … It certainly felt to me like they turned up the intensity and we had trouble staying with it.”
The Avs limited Chicago to four shots in the second period but were outshot 12-5 in the third.
“It was a good 40 minutes,” MacKinnon said. “We need to have more of a killer instinct and try to finish that off and score six or seven, and not try to protect it. We’re not used to playing with leads. Maybe that’s why. But we need to get more of them, be confident and press.”
The Avs, who scored four goals for the first time since winning 4-2 at Boston on Dec. 10, took a 4-3 lead into the third period before Hinostroza took over. He split Avalanche defensemen and for a breakaway goal to make it 5-4, and the Hawks added an empty-netter with 10.6 seconds to go.
“It’s frustrating. Two games in a row, we have leads, we work hard, we’re probably the better team through 40 minutes in both those games and we’re not able to finish it off,” said Duchene, noting Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the visiting Nashville Predators, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit. “We’re doing a great job sticking with it here, and working the way we’re working, but … right now we’re not playing for a whole heck of a lot other than pride.”
Pride isn’t translating to victories, and if this stretch continues, the March 1 trade deadline figures to be brutal. Colorado, which is 5-16-1 at home, is on track to finish with its fewest points in club history.
“We were playing good hockey. I thought the game was a lot of fun, first two periods. Both teams playing hard, a lot of action, fans were into it,” Bednar said. “And then we make some mistakes and they put it in the back of the net, and game over.”
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Three goals were scored in just 1:22 in the second period — two by the Avalanche in taking a 3-2 lead. First, MacKinnon spotted and made a cross-ice feed. Comeau drifted toward the boards during his wind-up and crushed the puck past Corey Crawford. Then, newcomer Matt Nieto took a pass near the goal line and drove to the net before squeezing the puck through Crawford’s legs for Colorado’s first lead of the game.
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The momentum didn’t last. Just 19 seconds after Nieto’s goal, Tanner Kero chipped a rebound over Varlamov’s shoulder and it was tied again, 3-3.
Chicago led 2-1 after the first period behind goals by Nick Schmaltz and Brent Seabrook. Duchene tied it 1-1 when he got a small piece of MacKinnon’s wrist shot during a power play.
