Poor Goaltending, Execution in Avs Loss to Lightning

The Avalanche’s multi-game win streak disastrously came to an end in the 8-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night. The defeat was a complete 180 from the full team effort 7-4 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Ivan Ivan was the only Avalanche player to find the back of the net and goaltending was a mess. The team battled at some points to stay in the game but never found a way to get into a rhythm. Colorado broke down and played more in survival mode than on the attack for a chance at a comeback.

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Seven different Tampa Bay shooters lit up either Justus Annunen or Alexandar Georgiev — and only a few were unstoppable. On the other end of the ice, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves on 25 shots.

The Bolts dominated from the start and were more aggressive than the Avalanche, who failed to execute on both sides of the puck.

“Our minds weren’t in. It felt like at some points, our body wanted to do the right thing, and just our execution was bad. We were just slower than them to every puck. That’s just kind of the way the night went,” Cale Makar said.

Good: Ivan Ivan’s Goals

Not much good came out of the Avalanche’s loss other than Ivan’s two goals.

His first was from Valeri Nichushkin’s shot rebound at 11:04 in the first. Ivan scrambled in front of the net with two Lightning players to grab the loose puck and shove it past Vasilevskiy.

The 22-year-old’s second goal in the third period was a shot right down the lane that Vasilevskiy stopped but the rebound bounced off Brayden Point’s skate and slid past the goalie.

“I think it was a positive for me. But other than that, it was unacceptable the way we played,” Ivan told Altitude TV after the game. “I know it was the last game in the road trip, but this is not the way we wanted to end the road trip.”

Bad: Goaltending and Execution

Annunen allowed three goals on six shots before being pulled and replaced by Georgiev in the first period. The team broke down in front of Georgiev on several plays which led to another three goals. Bednar put Annunen back in for the third period where he allowed two more.

“Didn’t love to start from Juice (Annunen) so go to Gorgie (Georgiev). If we could, because we had a little jump and got a couple chances in the first period where I thought that game was still in reach, and then it wasn’t. So then we went back to Juice and give Gorgie some rest …,” Bednar said. “Then once it got out of reach, I didn’t want to leave Gorgie in, so it is what it is. But he competed hard in the net. I can’t fault him on any of those goals.”

Ivan had the most shots on goal with five and the next highest was three from Joel Kiviranta. There was a disconnect with the team as a whole which caused a breakdown in the Avs’ system.

“I just felt execution for us wasn’t there tonight, and then again, just drifting into the wrong places and defensively, just not there for us,” Makar said.

This is a game that needs to be addressed immediately and forgotten just as quickly.