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Colorado’s Path to Playoff Form Requires Balance: Stars vs. Grit

On paper, Colorado played a strong game against Columbus. It was strong enough to expect a better result than a 4-1 loss, but it also wasn’t to their standard.

The Colorado Avalanche recently dropped a 6-1 victory over the Blue Jackets in March, but so closely on the heels of the Montreal game, it didn’t feel good to watch them lose in this fashion to a struggling Columbus team. It was the last regular season game against an Eastern Conference team.

Columbus was without several key players, including their starting goaltender, so Daniil Tarasov started in net. The Blue Jackets also missed their captain, their alternate captain, an entire top-six line of forwards, and even more depth and D.

Despite Colorado’s best efforts in the shots battle, Columbus managed their lanes well, Tarasov made important saves, and the Avs’ accuracy left a little to be desired.

Additionally, Some frustration crept into this game in the first half after a couple things didn’t go their way. A flimsy holding penalty on Sam Girard added insult to injury when Sean Walker was head hunted just moments before without a call.

Jonathan Drouin was high-sticked and the play was blown dead to review the penalty while the Avs had possession. It was rightfully deemed a no-call because Drouin’s head was down low, but it stung extra to have the original play stopped while they had the puck high in the zone.

Just a minute later, Columbus scored their second goal. Did the Avs get inside their heads too much?

Neutral Zone Coverage

Two of Colorado’s goal-against started with mistakes in the offensive zone – broken plays they weren’t prepared to defend against the other way.

On the first goal, Cale Makar’s shot was blocked and Columbus took the rebound in transition.

Girard and Makar drew back on the backcheck. Miles Wood was a little disconnected in the neutral zone and entered as the first forward back, but he was too high on the play to be effective.

Girard tried to confront Erik Gudbranson at the wall to tie up his lane, but he managed to get the puck to Kirill Marchenko. Marchenko burst ahead of Makar without contest and beat Justus Annunen five-hole.