Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

It sounds like the last-place Avs have found the secret to winning hockey games

Winnipeg Jets v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - NOVEMBER 11: Head Coach Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche (C) looks on from the bench during the third period against the Winnipeg Jets at Pepsi Center on November 11, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

Getty Images

The Colorado Avalanche were hoping that new head coach Jared Bednar would be able to step in and fix the problems that had been plaguing the team for a couple of years now.

With one night of NHL action remaining before the Christmas break, it’s safe to say the first 32 games of the season have been a dud.

The Avs are in the cellar of the NHL standings with 23 points, and the team ahead of them, Arizona, is four points ahead.

They have a ton of issues, but nothing is more glaring than their inability to find the back of the net. As you may have guessed, they rank dead last in goals for, with 65. That’s five goals back of Buffalo, who is right above them.

Don’t worry Avs fans, there’s reason for optimism surrounding your team because it sounds like they’ve figured out what the problem is.

After Thursday night’s 6-0 loss to Toronto (it was the sixth time they’ve been blanked in 2016-17), Bednar had this to say about his team:

“At some point, we have to find a way to score a goal,” he said, per the Denver Post. “Tonight, we’re in a game, chances are equal and next thing you know, we’re down 3-0 and it’s 5-0. I don’t think it was a 6-0 game but the zero is … you have to find a way to not be at zero.”

Forward Nathan MacKinnon echoed the same sentiments:

There’s no denying that the Avalanche have talent on the roster, it just seems like they’re never all on the same page at the same time.

With the month of December winding down, they still only have one player with double digit goals (Matt Duchene has 12) and just three players with more than five goals (Rene Bourque and MacKinnon).

As you’d imagine, their minus-40 goal differential is also the worst in the league (only one other team is at minus-30) and their home record (4-11-1) leaves a lot to be desired.

Avs management may just have to stick it out and realize that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Finishing in the cellar for at least one more year will have to be part of the process.

If they want to avoid going into the break with a six-game losing streak, they’ll need to win in Chicago tonight.