The Colorado Avalanche have now lost three straight preseason games to open up the year. This may concern some, but looking at the AHL heavy roster they have been using it should not raise alarms. Tonight was the first ever game against the Utah Hockey Club (formally the Arizona Coyotes). A team which the Avalanche have struggled with in the past. Even though this was not a game that counted to the regular season record, some players stood out. Here are the standout players in Colorado’s third straight loss.
Ivan Ivan
Ivan Ivan is a player that I have watched grow into a stronger skater and shooter in the past year. At first last season with the Colorado Eagles he was kind of timid and now with the confidence, he has become aggressive. Ivan will come to the play a lot more now and steal the puck in the offensive zone, creating more chances. Ivan showed he will get below the net on the power play and keep the plays going. The progression in one year has been unbelievable and we could expect possibly a late year call-up for Ivan at this rate.
Samuel Girard throws it down low to Ivan for a gorgeous one timer to Wood and the PP goal and the 1-0 lead. #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/y55sZk8zCj
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) September 29, 2024
Justus Annunen
Justus Annunen did a great job in first preseason performance, giving up only one goal in 15 shots. Tonight was a different story. Annunen stayed in the entire game despite seeing a rough second period and shaky defense. He saved 32 out of 37 shots on goal for a .865 save percentage. Two out of the three goals that he allowed in the second looked as though they were complete flukes. Annunen may have lost sight of the puck, which is troubling since the goalies work on puck tracking every morning. Goalies have poor games indeed, but this looked like a man out of the zone completely.
Cameron Hebig tosses it on net and throws Annunen off to take the lead #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/PaBWqh6xMV
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) September 30, 2024
Oliver Kylington
Oliver Kylington may be the odd-man out on defense at this point. With Sam Malinski performing so well during the preseason, this may leave no room for Kylington on the opening roster. He has performed well, but has not stood out as much as Erik Brännström or Malinski. The Avalanche do not want to put Malinski on waivers and risk losing him. They could not take that risk. There was a play in which Kylington shut down an odd-man rush, but other than that, he has not popped out to me.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Colorado Avalanche on 2024-09-29:#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/vcyDOd87QP
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) September 30, 2024
Conclusion
Do not overreact to the losing streak. I cannot say that enough. These are a mix of NHL, AHL and junior players that have had little time to play together. These games do not count and we have not really seen any of the top-six forwards play. I am not the least bit concerned over the 6–3 loss and the losing streak. I love getting extra looks at the AHL players and prospects though. We can probably expect more NHL level players to roll into the lineup next game. The Avalanche will be back at it on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights in Denver at 7:30 PM. The game will air on TNT.
Cal Ritchie goal alert!!!! Ritchie with a heck of a fake shot and the sweet backhand shot for the finish. Malinski and Brännström on the assists #Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/SYiOcfnrVi
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) September 30, 2024