Only 18 seconds into Saturday’s game, the Colorado Avalanche found themselves down a goal when a sloppy play behind the net allowed Calgary’s Michael Frolik to slip the puck past Semyon Varlamov for his ninth goal of the season.
For the Avalanche, it was all downhill from there.
After a bizarre goal that saw Nathan McKinnon score his 26th goal of the season when he casually flung the puck at the net from just inside the half-line, only to see it take a couple of strange bounces before ending up into the net, the Avalanche trailed 2-1 after the first period.
For the Avalanche this season, that’s been a death sentence; the team came into Saturday’s contest 0-10-2 when trailing after one period.
Make it 11.
The Avs never scored again, allowing a pair of power-play goals to Calgary thanks to frustrated and careless play by defenseman Duncan Siemens and Nikita Zadorov; each of whom earned three penalties apiece on the afternoon. Zadorov, whose minutes have all but evaporated over the last two games, is now the Avs’ most physical defenseman following Erik Johnson’s injury, and the team needs him to turn things around in a hurry.
They’ll all get their chance on Monday, when the team starts a critical, four-game homestand against Vancouver. While the Avalanche are now only four points behind the Flames for the West’s final wild-card spot, Saturday’s missed opportunity could be compounded by a poor homestand — one that could effectively end all realistic hopes for a postseason berth.