The Colorado Avalanche were coming into the game against the St. Louis Blues with the blues. Upon discovering that Artturi Lehkonen would be out for weeks and Andrew Cogliano was day-to-day, they changed the roster before the morning skate. Despite the additions of Kurtis MacDermid and Riley Tufte to the lineup, the Avalanche suffered an 8–2 loss to the Blues.
Defense
There was a lack of back-checking throughout the entire game, leading to several breakaways by the Blues. Cale Makar frequently failed to recover for the back-check after being caught out of position. The Blues’ first goal is a good example of how the defense was out of position. If Sam Girard had not been so deep in the crease, the puck would not have gone off him. There seemed to be a lack of effort overall. The statistics disagree, but the energy level was lacking.
Torey Krug's point shot pinballs in off a body to give the Blues the lead just 68 seconds in!#STLBlues pic.twitter.com/r5En9wddqQ
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 12, 2023
Brandon Saad turns on the jets and patiently finds Brayden Schenn in front to put the Blues up by 2!#STLBlues pic.twitter.com/hv9JeBmQLx
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 12, 2023
Offense
The offensive puck passing was extremely poor. One example is when MacDermid came into the Avalanche zone to help Josh Manson out, and the pass was a weak, effortless pass. It threw off MacDermid, and he tossed it back to Manson, who immediately threw it back and MacDermid turned it over and it led to a Blues chance on the net. The Avalanche zone exits were sloppy and lacked their usual speed, allowing the Blues’ defense to catch up and steal the puck. Even the goalies were having issues passing the puck to open players for a breakout, nearly turning it over several times.
BUCHNEVICH AGAIN! Two hat tricks for the Blues in the same game as Pavel Buchnevich scores his third!
🎩🎩🎩#STLBlues pic.twitter.com/9Cn3RcSeaN
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 12, 2023
Analysis
There is no need to be worried about the Avalanche…yet. They are now only 13 games into a long 82-game season. Are there any items that need to be addressed? Absolutely. It starts with goaltending and you have to work your way forward. Give Alexandar Georgiev more breaks. He cannot be working six or seven games in a row, then only taking one game off. Ivan Prosvetov needs to raise his game. Synchronization is crucial for the defense, while the forwards on lines three and four must improve. Do not panic and call for anyone’s head, just make some minor adjustments to the system and it will be fine.