The Colorado Avalanche were just trying to get something — anything — going in the third period against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. They trailed by two goals and had a man advantage.
Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch was handling the puck. Apparently, Wiercioch and center Matt Duchene weren't on the same page because this happened:
Colorado never scored and lost to the Wild 2-0. The Avalanche fell to 11-19-1 on the season with the defeat. They've been stuck on 23 points, the fewest in the NHL, since Dec. 11.
The Avalanche are the worst team in hockey, and it doesn't seem like it's particularly close. They've lost 11 of their last 13. They're dead-last in goals scored per game (2.1) and goals against per game (3.1). Colorado is on pace for a 60-point season, which would be the fewest it's posted in an 82-game regular season.
Former head coach Patrick Roy did this team no favors by resigning from his post about two months before the start of the regular season. Jared Bednar was introduced on the last day of August. On Oct. 15, Colorado opened the season against the Dallas Stars.
Colorado's much maligned "core" group of players — Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Semyon Varlamov — haven't been very good. Neither has the supporting cast.
This team is a mess right now from top to bottom.
Subscribe to Denverite's weekly sports newsletter here.
