Avalanche's Firepower Hasn't Translated Into Enough Wins

The Avalanche rank among the NHL's highest-scoring teams, but defensive lapses and an uneven start have left the Avalanche with a 5-4-1 record.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Scoring goals hasn't been much of a problem for the Colorado Avalanche. Translating that offensive production into victories has been a different story.

Through 10 games, the Avalanche have scored 41 goals, tied for the third highest total in the league with the Edmonton Oilers. The Avs' average of 4.10 goals per game is more than a full goal above the league average of 3.09. Those are impressive numbers for a team featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and several other accomplished offensive players.

Yet the Avalanche enter Friday's matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-4-1 record and 11 points. That puts Colorado fourth in the Central Division despite possessing one of the league's most productive attacks.

The problem isn't how many goals they allow over the course of a game, as they've surrendered 30 goals, or an average of 3.00 per contest. Instead, the concern becomes when those goals are allowed and how the Avalanche respond when opponents take control.

The Avalanche have won all five games in which they led after two periods. When trailing after 40 minutes, however, the Avalanche are winless in four attempts.

That contrast illustrates how difficult it has been for them to recover once opponents establish an advantage. Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils provided another example.

The Avalanche allowed 32 shots through the first two periods and entered the third trailing 2-1. The Devils eventually extended their lead to 4-1 before Artturi Lehkonen scored twice during the final four minutes. The Avalanche generated considerable pressure late, but their comeback fell short. The loss followed Monday's 3-2 defeat against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Avalanche have now dropped three of their last four games, going 1-2-1 during that stretch. Their overall offensive numbers remain impressive. They have generated 306 shots on goal through 10 games, averaging 30.6 a game. The Avalanche have also converted 13.4 percent of their shots, showing their ability to finish scoring opportunities.

The power play hasn't been particularly dominant as the Avalanche have converted six of their 32 opportunities with the man advantage, an 18.75 percent success rate. That's below the league average of 20.90 percent. The penalty kill has performed better, operating at 82.61 percent.

For head coach Jared Bednar, improving the team's results may require more attention to its performance early in the games than its overall scoring ability. The Avalanche are 4-1-1 when scoring first but just 1-3-0 when allowing the opening goal. That disparity makes the importance of establishing an early advantage difficult to ignore.

The Avalanche have enough offensive talent to overwhelm opponents when everything is clicking. What they haven't demonstrated consistently is the ability to dictate the pace of games from beginning to end. With the Lightning visiting Ball Arena on Friday, the Avalanche have another opportunity to address that problem.