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The Colorado Avalanche lost on the road Tuesday night, 6-3, against the Arizona Coyotes.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Travel issues
Even the Avalanche weren’t immune from the nationwide airline panic this holiday season. Colorado’s travel was delayed, forcing the Avs to fly into Arizona the afternoon before the game — just a few hours before puck drop. Their tardiness showed.
The Coyotes led 1-0 less than 4 minutes into regulation when Arizona forward Shayne Gostisbehere capitalized on sloppy Avs defensive play with a rocket into the net. The Avs eventually woke up with an Evan Rodrigues power-play goal in the first period. But count this as another rough start.
Georgiev torched
Alexandar Georgiev had been phenomenal over his previous six starts. He allowed eight goals on 160 shots with a stellar .950 save percentage. Georgiev needs to be great, now more than ever, with a lower-body injury to backup Pavel Francouz. So how do you explain Tuesday night?
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Georgiev allowed five goals on 32 Arizona shots. It’s the second time this season he has given up five in a game. You can’t pin them all this time on Georgiev, though. Two goals were from distance through heavy traffic. Two more came on odd-man rushes, of course, made possible by poor Avalanche defense. Georgiev can be better. So can the rest of his team. Arizona closed the game with an empty-net goal.
MacKinnon update
The Avalanche would have benefited greatly from the presence of injured center Nathan MacKinnon (upper body) in Arizona. That’s a given. But Colorado’s long wait might finally be nearing an end. Coach Jared Bednar addressed MacKinnon’s looming health status Tuesday with the team returning to Ball Arena this week for a three-game homestand.
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“We have got to see him coming out of this break here,” Bednar said on Altitude 92.5 FM radio. “He’ll continue to skate. And, hopefully, between now and New Year’s (Sunday) he could get back in the lineup. That would be a little bit ahead of schedule but sounds like he’s knocking on the door here.”
GAMER BOX
Coyotes 6, Avalanche 3
What happened: Colorado snapped a four-game winning streak with a mostly uninspired performance after the NHL’s holiday break.
What went right: Forward Evan Rodrigues tied the game just 10 seconds into the team’s first power-play chance of the night. He now has eight goals this season. Cale Makar scored just his second goal in the month of December. Forward Mikko Rantanen notched his team-leading 24th goal of the season.
What went wrong: Rantanen had a highlight-reel goal — batting the puck out of mid-air into the net — disallowed on an Arizona challenge for offsides. It would have tied the game at 3-3. Then a Coyotes power-play goal put the Avs back in a two-goal deficit.
Between the pipes: Starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev made 27-of-32 saves. Coyotes netminder Connor Ingram stopped 26 of Colorado’s 29 shots on goal.
Injury updates: Forward Valeri Nichushkin (lower body) and goalie Pavel Francouz (lower body) were not available Tuesday night. Forward Martin Kaut (upper body) is considered week-to-week. Forward Andrew Cogliano (upper body) returned to face the Coyotes.
What’s next: The Avalanche (19-12-2) return home Thursday night to face the Los Angeles Kings.
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