Recap: Road woes continue in defeat to Detroit

6 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images


The Avalanche cannot seem to win on the road. Can anyone find the Colorado Avalanche away from Ball Arena?
They fell to the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in overtime in a heartbreaking loss at the Little Caesars Arena. It’s the first time the Avs have lost in the new Red Wings building, and it was also the first time since 2017 that the Red Wings beat the Avs - a 10-game stretch.
It was far from pretty, and ultimately a lack of offense hurt the Avs. Let’s go over how it went down.
First Period
The Avs came out on top in the first period, having some threatening chances on Alex Lyon. Their best chance came with Jonathan Drouin gliding through the Red Wings' defense but didn’t get good wood on his shot.
At the other end, Detroit had chances from Daniel Sprong trying to go between his legs in front but was shut down by Justus Annunen. Perhaps the best chance of the period did come from Alex DeBrincat, who had a 2-on-1 end with hitting the iron.
After trading tripping penalties, each team couldn’t convert on their respective power plays. Hence, both teams went into the room scoreless looking for an answer on offense.
Second Period
The Avalanche opened the period well, thanks to a handful of good shifts from the top six. Logan O’Connor looked to have scored in his return to the lineup in the slot, but Lyon was up to the task.
But it wouldn’t take long, because soon after Nathan MacKinnon made his presence known. He streaked into the slot where Mikko Rantanen found him, and the Dogg went short-side to grab the lead.


Nathan MacKinnon: Red Wing killer #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/KkM4pSOIuW— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) February 23, 2024




After killing off a Rantanen hooking penalty on former teammate J.T. Compher, the Avs were put on the back foot. Despite only giving up 10 shots on net more than halfway through the game, Detroit was pushing for the equalizer.
Their best chances came from Jake Walman on a breakaway, where the defenseman just missed the net altogether. He was also part of keeping the Avs's defense in their own zone for nearly two-and-a-half minutes, finally wrapped up by great tracking and puck location by Annunen to shut it down. It helped keep the 1-0 lead heading into the final 20 minutes.
Third Period
The Avalanche could not convert on an early power play and were put on the back foot from there. Annunen bailed out the Avs in a big way to keep the donut on the board for Detroit.
Eventually, they would break through. Drouin took his second tripping penalty of the game, allowing Dylan Larkin to find enough room to beat Annunen to even up the score.


Dylan with his 25th. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/qW5NAJxl7O— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 23, 2024




The Avs still could not get the offense going the other way, even on their fourth-man advantage. Detroit looked like the more hungry team for a win and had a golden chance to do so with former Av J.T. Compher right in front on the power play. Annunen robbed him in the dying seconds to do just enough to force overtime.


JUICE!Big save with seconds left in regulation.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/TKCb1EBKtT— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 23, 2024




Overtime
After killing off the Logan O’Connor holding penalty which carried over from the end of the third period, Colorado got their best guys on the ice looking for the win. But it would backfire, as Patrick Kane would get the extra point for the Red Wings.


A thing of beauty. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Nm0P3157zl— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) February 23, 2024




Takeaways
What in the world is up with the Avalanche on the road? This had similar shades to the opening game after the NHL All-Star Break against the New York Rangers. They couldn’t score, gave up an equalizer in the third period, and eventually fell in the extra period by the exact same score of 2-1. The road record for the Avalanche is now 13-13-5 away from Ball Arena, losing eight of their last 11 on the road. They didn’t play very well and were able to at least get one point and are now one point behind the Dallas Stars for the Central Division lead.
While it might not have been anyone’s best game on the ice, it certainly was for one man in the crease. Annunen was great in this game, getting the start ahead of Alexandar Georgiev to get some more rest. He’s stuck around with the team for now, and his 28-save performance gave Georgiev some more rest and kept the Avs in it when offense was hard to come by at the other end.
Special teams are continuing to be an issue. The power play cannot get going, with the Avs getting into this bad habit of overpassing and not taking their shots at the net. Mikko Rantanen in particular never looked to shoot on the man advantage, and instead played simple to Cale Makar at the point or tried to force a pass through to MacKinnon. Meanwhile, the penalty kill gave up the game-tying goal to Larkin as well. Something has to be worked on on both ends of the ice, particularly to get the man advantage rolling again. They are now 2-for-28 in their previous attempts.
Upcoming
The Avs return to Denver for the first of two big games at home. It starts Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 5:00 p.m. MT....

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