GAME STORY: Colorado had scored in 152 of its last 153 games. That ended with a lethargic loss to the Devils on Friday night. by BennettDurando
NEWARK, N.J. — In the Avalanche’s least inspiring stretches early this season, the immediate temptation might be to label any lethargy as championship hangover. Colorado did, after all, have the shortest offseason recharge in the NHL.Three nights after winning a shootout in New York that unfolded with as much suspense as a regular season game can pack, the Avalanche crossed the Hudson River and failed to sleepwalk through New Jersey.
Colorado had been shut out only once in its previous 153 games and only five times in the last three seasons, including playoffs. Everything that the Rangers game was, this wasn’t. That thriller featured 90 combined shots and breathtaking goalie play to keep the score modest through overtime. This matchup was still about the race to 10 shots on goal as the 10-minute mark of the second period neared.
The Avalanche never came particularly close to scoring. The most threatening opportunities were a Cale Makar shot off the crossbar in the first period — the defending Norris Trophy winner still has not scored this season — and an Evan Rodrigues clean shot at the net when Colorado trailed in the third period. He tried to maneuver to his backhand, but Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek denied him. A crowd gathered in the creased, but the puck leaked away behind the net.
The most exciting action of the night around Vanecek’s goal was at that moment, as it came dislodged.