When the Avalanche were 5-0-0, head coach Jared Bednar told me he’d still like the team to find another gear. There was some slight concern about their play despite the perfect start.

He was right.

Following a third shutout loss in four games, this time 7-0 to the top-seed Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado dropped to 7-3-0 on the season and has just four goals in its last four games. All of those tallies came in a victory against the Blues. The road losing streak reaches three games, and it comes following a record-breaker 15 consecutive wins away from home.

It’s not entirely doom and gloom. Winning seven of the first 10 games is a good start any way you shake it. Perhaps more home games and a rhythm of playing every other night could help. But heading into this next stretch — 10 games in 19 days — here are five questions I have surrounding the team.

  1. Nathan MacKinnon has nine points in 10 games. Could he find his dominant game?
  2. Who’s gonna step up and solidify a spot within the top six? Tomas Tatar? Jonathan Drouin? Someone else?
  3. Jack Johnson, Josh Manson and Samuel Girard have one assist, each. Devon Toews has four points and Bowen Byram has three. Combined, the five of them have 10 points. That’s one less than Cale Makar. They’ll need more than just No. 8 to produce points. Will the defense step up their offensive production?
  4. Valeri Nichushkin provides a lot more than just goals. But finding the back of the net once through 10 games isn’t enough. Will he find his scoring touch?
  5. Alexandar Georgiev was dominant in the first four games, allowing just four goals. But since then, Colorado’s top goalie has surrendered at least four goals in five straight games for a total of 23. He’s not getting much support lately, but will he find his way out of this rut?

Listen to “An Avalanche of Questions Following a 7-0 Loss at Vegas” on Spreaker.