Colorado Avalanche playoff hockey revealed its character in game one. Listen up, hockey heads—that Avs-Knights opener was UGLY, and I’m not here to sugarcoat it like some soft-serve sports blog. Colorado came out flat, Vegas came out hungry, and the result was exactly what you’d expect when one team shows up ready to play playoff hockey in May and the other team is still shaking off the cobwebs from summer vacation.
Yeah, yeah, Cale Makar was out. You know what? I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT.
Colorado Avalanche Playoff Depth: Makar or No Makar
This is the NHL, people. Injuries happen. Suspensions happen. Your star defenseman sitting out happens. Championship-caliber teams find ways to compete anyway. The 2023-24 Colorado Avalanche have Nathan MacKinnon—a legitimate Hart Trophy contender who just put up 140 points last season. They’ve got Mikko Rantanen, who’s one of the purest snipers in the league. They’ve got depth. They’ve got coaching. They should NEVER come out looking like they forgot how hockey works, Makar or no Makar.
What the Avs’ Fight Showed
But here’s the thing—and this is MY OPINION, backed by watching hockey for longer than some of you have been alive—that almost-comeback means something. Down multiple goals, the Avs started to remember who they are. They clawed back. They pushed. And yeah, that empty-netter stung like stepping on a Lego barefoot, but the fight they showed in the third period? THAT’S what Stanley Cup teams are made of.
A Wake-Up Call for Colorado
This could’ve been a wake-up call. Sometimes you NEED to get punched in the mouth early in the season. Sometimes you need to feel what it’s like when your systems aren’t crisp, when your passes are tape-to-tape in practice but somehow three feet wide in the game. The Vegas Golden Knights—love them or hate them—are a franchise that knows how to bring intensity from puck drop. They don’t ease into seasons. Neither should Colorado.
Game Two is THE litmus test. This is where we find out if the Avs are championship-level mentally. Can they adjust? Can they execute? Can they show the resilience that separates contenders from pretenders? Because let me tell you something: the Central Division is a BLOODBATH this year. Dallas looks dangerous. Winnipeg’s got something brewing. You cannot afford to drop games you should win just because you’re “finding your rhythm.”
My brother Harry would probably say I’m being too harsh—that’s why he covers the fluff pieces and I cover SPORTS. The Avs have the talent. The roster is stacked. But talent without execution is just expensive disappointment, and nobody knows that better than Colorado fans who’ve watched Cup windows close before.
So here’s my call: Avs come out FIRED UP in Game Two. They tighten up defensively, MacKinnon goes supernova, and they remind everyone why they’re perennial Cup favorites. Or—and this is the scenario that should terrify Avalanche faithful—they come out sluggish again and we start asking serious questions about whether last season’s success created some complacency.
The rust excuse works ONCE. After that, it’s just excuses.
Game Two isn’t just another game. It’s a statement game. It’s a “who are we” game. And if the Avs are who we think they are, Vegas is about to get a very different Colorado team than the one that sleepwalked through Game One.
Buckle up, hockey fans. This is Jim Balz, and I’ll be watching every shift.
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