A week ago, the panic alarm in Denver was barely a whisper. But a blowout by the Columbus Blue Jackets and an ugly overtime loss to the Nashville Predators can change the conversation fast.
The Colorado Avalanche easily won the Presidents’ Trophy last year. Now they’re clinging to a Western Conference wild-card spot. While sloppy defensive coverage has drawn plenty of flak, an even bigger red flag is quietly undermining their game: Colorado’s special teams units have gone completely off the rails.
For a team packed with elite skill, this should be their greatest strength. Instead, these units look shockingly human right now.
The Power Play Has Lost Its Spark
The man-advantage fading isn’t entirely out of nowhere. Despite dropping goals at will last season, Colorado’s power play stumbled into a mediocre 27th-place finish at 17.1%. But watching it sputter out when it matters most is getting painful for Avalanche fans.
Even a late 5-on-4 against Nashville with the game deadlocked 2-2 fell flat. Instead of putting the game away, the power play faltered, setting up an immediate overtime loss. The breakdown feels structural. Nathan MacKinnon is getting caught over-handling the puck, while the rest of the unit sits back and watches him work rather than driving movement.
What makes this frustrating is that the talent hasn’t vanished. With net-front disruptors like Artturi Lehkonen and Nazem Kadri in the fold, the skill guys on the perimeter need to stop looking for the highlight-reel pass and simply put pucks on net. The second-chance dirty goals are right there for the taking if they just simplify the attack.
The Penalty Kill Is Slipping Fast
While the power play’s issues are an ongoing headache, watching the penalty kill stumble is a brand-new plot twist. Last season, Colorado boasted the NHL’s top unit with an elite 84.6% kill rate. Today, they’ve plummeted into the middle of the pack at 17th overall (76.9%).
The drop-off showed up in overtime against the Predators, where the penalty kill looked completely lost, leaving massive seams open and handing Nashville the game-winner. Relying on goaltending to bail out missed assignments can work for a night or two, but it isn’t a strategy. With blue-line anchors like Devon Toews and dependable defensive forwards like Brock Nelson, this group should shut down power plays, not tread water.
Is It Championship Fatigue or Just Lazy Play?
Maybe there’s a broader issue at play. After years of deep playoff runs, fatigue might be catching up with this core. After a frustrating Western Conference Final exit despite an insane regular season, it’s fair to ask whether the Avalanche are simply struggling to summon high-level intensity in November.
In a brutal Central Division, playing passive perimeter hockey won’t cut it. If special teams don’t snap out of this funk soon, the Avalanche won’t just be losing wild-card positioning—they’ll face serious questions about their ability to contend.
Avalanche’s Superpower Suddenly Looks Shockingly Human