Colorado Avalanche

Final weekend of sour season
April 7, 2017, 4:52 PM ET [3 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
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It was a weird day Friday, at least for me knowing this would be the Avalanche's final practice in what has been such an awful season before the team left for Saturday's game in Dallas and the finale on Sunday in St. Louis.

No more morning skates, either, so it was the last time plenty of these guys would be on the ice together.

For anyone still interested, Jeremy Smith will be in goal against the Stars, and Calvin Pickard will start against the Blues.

I think the players are just as eager to get this nightmare over as the rest of us, maybe moreso.

"It's been a disaster," Nathan MacKinnon said. "The wheels fell off and we couldn't put them back on."


Considering how the season unfolded, Thursday's 4-3 loss to Minnesota in the final home game began and ended in fitting fashion.

Jason Zucker scores 10 seconds into the game after Charlie Coyle dumps the puck off the end boards. Pickard leaves the net to play the puck and Zucker gets it and scores on a wraparound.

The ending was even more bizarre, yet so typical of a season gone so horribly bad.

Sven Andrighetto, who in 17 games with the Avalanche has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) since his March 1 acquisition from Montreal for Andreas Martinsen, pokes a loose puck into the net on a power play with 1:14 to play.

After originally ruling no goal, a video review concludes the goal counts and the game is tied 4-4, prompting Wild coach Bruce Boudreau to use his challenge, claiming goalie Devan Dubnyk was interfered with. Another review follows and the goal is disallowed; the ruling is that MacKinnon pushed Jonas Brodin into Dubnyk, impeding his ability to make a save.

MacKinnon disagreed with the decision, of course, saying it was an especially bitter way to end Fan Appreciation Night.

"It would have been cool to get an OT goal to send the fans on their way for the summer and bring some excitement back and, hopefully, people renew their tickets. It's tough.

"Obviously it doesn't really matter to us in the standings, but it's just frustrating. We want to win. We're competitive guys."

The highlight of the game: Tyson Jost scoring his first NHL goal in the second period, and emotional grandpa Jim Jost being shown on the videoboard.

Other than that, not so much. The Avalanche played some decent hockey at the Pepsi Center down the stretch, beating St. Louis and Chicago, and making it interesting against Washington and Minnesota while losing in the end.

They finished a pathetic 13-26-2 for 28 points at home, the Avalanche's worst in 21 seasons in Denver.

Only two Quebec Nordiques teams were worse at home in franchise history: the 1989-90 team had 22 points in 40 games (8-26-6, remember ties?) and the 1990-91 squad had 26 points in 40 games (9-23-8, more ties).

Then there's the road record -- 9-29-1. The Avalanche also will finish with the fewest road points since arriving in Denver regardless of what happens in Dallas and St. Louis.

The 2008-09 Avalanche had 31 points on the road at 14-24-3.

The 1989-90 Nordiques boast the franchise record for futility on the road: nine points in 40 road games, finishing 4-35-1.