Colorado played hard in its last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs but a few little mistakes cost them big in the end.
Colorado played hard in its last game against the Toronto Maple Leafs but a few little mistakes cost them big in the end.
Although the Colorado Avalanche did not achieve the results they worked for against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, they know there were just a few things they need to work on going into the next matchup.
"I mean that's a really good team. Pretty even game. Yeah, just unfortunate the end. We had a lot of chances to get up ahead and didn't capitalize and hopefully we can win tomorrow," Nathan MacKinnon said after practice on Monday.
The 28-year-old elite center earned three points and was a plus-two with the third-most ice time in the game. Although MacKinnon and the power play unit capitalized on the man-advantage for the first goal, the Leafs did as well on both the Avalanche's penalties.
Head coach Jared Bednar said after practice on Monday that the penalty kill unit had a "big meeting" and that was an area the team needed to improve. The Avs are wrapping up their worst segment of the season but Bednar was steadfast about the team's gradual improvement over the last nine games.
"I felt like we've been competitive, a hard defending team over the last few games. We played some really good opponents, especially opponents that have a lot of offensive firepower, and they've done a nice job," Bednar said. "It certainly improved, the numbers would show that over the last three or four games so got to continue to work in that direction. We haven't got the results we wanted in every game that we've played hard and played well in. We still have some areas that we need to tighten up."
It had been eight games since Cale Makar got on the scoresheet but he earned an assist on the Avs' only power-play goal. However, it was not particularly impactful for the young defenseman.
"I mean, it is what it is. I think it's the second assist — it's like you're just passing it around. You know it's not really an assist in my opinion," Makar said. "I think at the end of the day it's just sometimes you're gonna have those streaks and felt like a really long time, but then you kind of just got to sit back and just keep working. So that's the mentality that you kind of got to have."
Makar has been tough on himself through his slump but his dedication and hard work will eventually help the team consistently win games. Hopefully for him and the Avs, it's sooner than later.
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