The Colorado Avalanche fell on Monday night to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Colorado has now reached a bit of a lull in their recent form. After a nine-game winning streak, the Avalanche have lost three of their last four games. On Monday, head coach Jared Bednar opened up about a rough night for his squad.
“Frustrating night because we really wanted to focus on our starts because they haven’t been good enough,” Bednar said, via NHL.com. “We’ve been digging holes early in games, and usually the first period.”
The Avalanche have had issues in the first period as of late. However, they played well enough on Monday night. Colorado outshot the Blue Jackets 11-7 in the opening frame. And overall, they appeared in control of the contest.
“I actually liked our first period tonight. Our conscience was good on the defensive side of the puck. I liked some of the chances we created, first shift moving on through the period. Disappointed we didn’t get rewarded with one there,” Bednar said of that opening period, via NHL.com.
Avalanche falter vs. Blue Jackets
The Avalanche fell behind in the second period. Alex Nylander scored twice as the Blue Jackets jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Things simply did not go Colorado’s way in the middle frame. Jared Bednar acknowledged as much when speaking to reporters after losing to Columbus on Monday.
“The second period, our game kind of went away,” Bednar said, via NHL.com. “We didn’t execute well enough in the offensive zone. The bulk of their chances in the second period came off turnovers in our offensive zone.”
To their credit, the Avalanche did get on the board in the third period. Chris Wagner scored his first goal of the season to give Colorado some life in this contest. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Cole Sillinger found the back of the net for the 13th time this year to give Columbus a 4-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Alex Nylander strikes
The Avalanche became the latest team to see a resurgent Alex Nylander up close. Jared Bednar and his team seemingly had no answer for the former top-10 pick. Nylander joined the Blue Jackets midseason after a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. And so far, he has absolutely thrived. Nylander has 10 goals and 13 points in 17 games with Columbus.
“It feels really good,” Nylander said, via NHL.com, of his recent performances. “Just got to keep going the way I’ve been playing and just have the same mentally (being) prepared for every game here.”
Nylander scored big goals for the Blue Jackets, but his defense struggled to prevent shots. In fact, the Avalanche had 46 shots on goal in this game. Columbus puck-stopper Daniil Tarasov stood tall, though, making 45 saves in the win.
“A 3-0 lead going into the third period against a team like that is always a little scary,” Blue Jackets defenseman Erik Gudbranson said, via NHL.com. “They got one back, but we did a very good job of bending today but not breaking. [Tarasov] was stellar again.”
The Avalanche need to turn things around before the Stanley Cup Playoffs later this month. Colorado has a chance to get back in the win column on Thursday. The Avalanche continue their three-game road trip as they head to the State of Hockey to face the Minnesota Wild.
More must-reads: