Avalanche Game 72 Recap: If It Wasn't for Bad Luck...

As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end." But this was not the time.

The Colorado Avalanche continued to ride high as winners of nine straight, the latest win being against a Pittsburgh Penguins team who led 4-0! With the Vancouver Canucks' home loss on the previous night, the Avs had the chance to move into the #1 spot in the entire Western Conference. The homestand continued, and it was against the Montréal Canadiens. Notice I didn't say the "lowly" Canadiens. I don't consider the Canadiens lowly. Are they going to be in the playoffs? No. But the potential's there. Even so, it did look like the Avs should win.

The goalie matchup was Justus Annunen vs Sam Montembeault, and 43 seconds in to the game, Nathan MacKinnon's streak continued. His 45th goal of the season, and his 123rd point, tying him with Nikita Kucherov--though he'd get the Ross at this point because Mack has more goals. Unfortunately, we would not get to enjoy that lead, as just eight seconds later, Nick Suzuki (one of the few names left from the Habs' 2021 Cinderella run) tied the game. So it was 1-1 after the first minute. Wow.

The Canadiens entering Ball Arena allowed Avalanche fans to thank and honor yet another member of the 2022 championship squad: Alex Newhook. Newhook's first three seasons in the NHL were with the Avalanche, and that included our Cup run two seasons prior. He had 33 points that year, and in the playoffs, he only had four points (all helpers), but he was an amazing presence for the Avs, and was a big contributor to that championship. As for the rest of the period, the Avs were on the power play, but it was killed off. However, we received another PP minutes later that had close call, but was shut down. Even worse, Joel Armia wasn't shut down, as he gave the Canadiens a 2-1 lead.

The score held up after 20 minutes, and the second period saw the Avs get stopped at every turn when it came to tying the game. This included another power play that saw absolutely nothing go right. Despite this, Annunen showed why he got that two year extension, as he kept us in it, keeping it at 2-1 after 40. The third period was more of the same, but I remained hopeful that we'd tie it up. However, Josh Anderson broke away and was hooked by Sean Walker, resulting in a penalty. Habs PP was killed off, but Walker committed another penalty, which resulted in a bloody nose. Double minor--with barely over five minutes left. Avs managed to kill it off, but even after getting the extra attacker, the Avs just could not tie it up.

The loss does not upset me. The Avs are fine and are in a good place. What upsets me is that even with a big winning streak, we were still just a hair ahead in the Central because no one was beating Dallas. You know why I was damn near frantic during that latter half of the third period? Because Dallas was facing the San Jose Sharks. The San Jose Sharks have been shooting blanks since losing the Western Conference Final in 2019. Those idiots can't be trusted, and they proved it yet again. Nine wins in a row, but one loss knocked us out of first place because the Sharks are impersonating an NHL team.

At least MacKinnon's streak stays alive. A point in all 35 home games; that's just epic. As for the Avalanche, the homestand continues on Thursday against the heavyweight New York Rangers, and thankfully, Dallas faces a real team in the Vancouver Canucks on that same night.

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