Game Recap: Avalanche Jets

The first period was definitely a tale of two halves. Colorado came out playing good hockey, a welcome change after the previous two games. In particular, a new 4th line of Cody McLeod, Chris Wagner, and Andreas Martinsen exploded out onto the ice and started hitting fools left and right to great effect. After hitting a wall halfway through, the Avs would be outshot during the period (24-14 CF 5v5), but that line would be the only positive possession contribution from Colorado's bench. Fortunately, they would get on the scoreboard before the wind left their sails. Gabriel Landeskog, after stealing the puck, was tripped by Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, leading to an Avalanche power play. Francois Beauchemin slid the puck over to Jarome Iginla who fired a wrist shot toward the goal. Mikhail Grigorenko got the rebound and toe-dragged the puck past goalie Connor Hellebuyck to put Colorado up 1-0.

Andrew Ladd would even it up, however, with less than two minutes remaining in the period. After getting stuck in their zone for way too long (sound familiar?), the Avs watched Byfuglien catch the puck above the top-right circle and rip a wide-open slap shot at the net. Varlamov stopped the puck, but when he went to clear the rebound, he did so right to Ladd for his 13th on the year.

Winnipeg would waste no time following that up in the 2nd Period. Just 2:54 in, Tyson Barrie was skating a puck behind his net when Mark Scheifele came over, undressed him, and dished to Drew Stafford for an easy score. The game would begin to devolve thereafter into something only barely resembling hockey. The Jets would score again on another Stafford goal from the top-circle through an Andrew Ladd screen. Ladd made clear contact with Varlamov, but the Colorado goaltender was so far out of his crease trying to cut off the angle that the goalie interference was allowed. Patrick Roy challenged the call and then blew his top unlike anything we've seen since 2013 when the call on the ice wasn't overturned. The outburst seemed to fire up the team for a good while and Matt Duchene drew the team to 3-2 on a snipe from the goal line, but that's all they would manage.

The third period was twenty minutes of awful NHL product. Cheap hits, a brutal high-stick on Nick Holden, uncalled holding, interference, scrums every time a goalie would cover the puck. It just wasn't fun to watch. Hell, Tyson Barrie dropped the gloves for his first NHL fight if that tells you anything. U-G-L-Y.

Winnipeg would score another to make it 4-2; and despite pulling the goalie for two-and-a-half minutes, Colorado wouldn't sniff another good scoring opportunity. The on-ice product sucks right now and I'm not sure what Roy does to get this team back on track after, now, three atrocious games after the All-Star Break.

Lone bright spot? Mikhail Grigorenko getting another shot on the top line with MacKinnon and Duchene. This works. Keep doing it. Everything else? I don't know.

I'm going to go find some bourbon. Go Broncos or whatever.