The Colorado Avalanche could have a 3-0 series lead. They’ve led for the majority of the series, all but 70 seconds.

But yet, they find themselves down 2-1.

So, what is going wrong so far for the Avalanche?

Lack of adjustments

The Avs haven’t been able to fine-tune adjustments and change when things aren’t going their way. Ever since the second period of Game Two, the Dallas Stars have been able to move around the Avalanche and have been the better team.

They’ve done this without their top forward and defenseman, Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen. Colin Blackwell came into the lineup for Game Two after falling behind in the series. Lo and behold, he had the overtime winner to tie the series.

Meanwhile, Colorado has continued its lackluster performance on the man advantage. They went 0-for-6 on the power play Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Dallas has taken over games both on the power play and at 5-on-5. Jamie Benn scored the game-tying goal in Game Three on the man advantage, after Colorado took back-to-back penalties.

They’ve continued trying the same thing over and over by forcing Jonathan Drouin onto PP1. They continue trying to force the bumper play. They have been stuck on trying the same thing over and over again with the same lineup, looking for a different result – the definition of insanity.

Of course, the highly anticipated return of Gabriel Landeskog came in Wednesday night’s affair. He was good, getting involved and using the body. Granted, his first NHL game in 1,032 days didn’t have high expectations. But looking at other Avs who came in to play this series, Miles Wood and Sam Malinski weren’t great. Wood, in particular, was at fault for the Game Two OT winner for the Stars.

Coach & Game History

Criticism for Jared Bednar is at an all-time high by being “outcoached” by Pete DeBoer, particularly at the most important point in the season. DeBoer currently holds the playoff head-to-head record of 26-14 and is undefeated in Game Sevens. Meanwhile, Bednar hasn’t won a Game Seven in his coaching career. He needs to put something together to challenge DeBoer’s record by making adjustments which haven’t been done yet.

Bednar has been known to keep his cards close and try to tactfully trick teams – look at Landeskog’s skating in warmups for Game Two, but not actually playing. Despite this, it doesn’t faze his opponents. While Bednar has a Stanley Cup to his name, since then, it hasn’t worked out for him. By no means should he be at risk for his job, but it’s certainly not as easy in situations like this.

Offensive Performance

The offensive performance of the Avalanche has been lacking at best. Logan O’Connor leads the team with one goal and three assists, but has done it with two shots on net. He is also plus four on the defensive side.


Nathan MacKinnon is the only player that appears in the top five skaters from the top two lines of the Avalanche. He is second on the team with three goals and one assist. The rest of the top five comprise all defensemen with Cale Makar, Ryan Lindgren, and Samuel Girard.

Valeri Nichushkin, who analysts thought was going to dominate the playoffs, has only one point. It took until Game Three for Nichushkin to find the back of the net in the first period after a screen was setup and he walked to the net.

The Avalanche need to be more willing to make minor adjustments throughout the lineup. Adjustments to the lines will come as Landeskog becomes more comfortable, but other players need to move too.

The power play will have to be shuffled to light a spark and start the production. Going 0-for-6 in a playoff game is unacceptable. Drouin will have to be moved off the top line, and someone needs to provide a net-front presence, be it Landeskog or Nichushkin. Adjustments will come, and they need to come by Saturday for the Avalanche to still win the series.