The second period offside call was blown, and the goal should have stood, but the Avalanche responded with some of the worst hockey they've played all season.
The Colorado Avalanche were controversially denied a goal in the second period of Tuesday night’s matchup against the Utah Mammoth.
Roughly 42 seconds into the frame, Utah sought to transition out of its defensive zone when winger Dylan Guenther mishandled the puck just beyond the blue line. The errant puck deflected off his skates and ricocheted off the boards, prompting a hurried recovery attempt as Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin bore down with an assertive forecheck. In the ensuing scramble, Guenther inadvertently pushed the puck back into his own zone. Crucially, Nichushkin did not make contact with the puck until it had already crossed the blue line, and any subsequent contact between his stick and Guenther’s occurred only after Guenther had redirected the puck backward.
Ironically, Guenther delivered the coup de grâce in overtime, sealing a 4–3 victory for the Mammoth and sending the home crowd into jubilation.
Horrible Explanation
The original explanation from the NHL’s Situation Room didn’t help the cause.
Video review determined that the actions of Valeri Nichushkin caused the puck to enter the Utah zone while Nathan MacKinnon was in an off-side position. The decision was made in accordance with Rule 83.2, which states in part, “Any action by an attacking player that causes a deflection/rebound off a defending player in the neutral zone back into the defending zone (i.e. stick check, body check, physical contact), a delayed off-side shall be signaled by the Linesperson.
His actions? Here’s what actually transpired. Nichushkin — renowned as one of the league’s most relentless and technically refined forecheckers — pressured Guenther into a critical error, swiftly capitalized on the turnover, and threaded a pass to Landeskog for what should have been a 2–0 lead for Colorado.
Avalanche Responded Terribly
That’s all that needs to be said about the officiating — once a questionable call is made, a team simply cannot allow it to dictate the remainder of the contest. Unfortunately, the next 19 minutes that followed was some of the worst hockey the Avalanche have played all season. The opening 20 minutes were hardly exemplary either, though their flaws were somewhat obscured by Utah’s own struggles with puck management, as both teams combined for a staggering 13 turnovers in the first period alone.
Nathan MacKinnon was doing everything in his power to generate offense, but both Martin Nečas and Sam Malinski struggled mightily throughout the game. Nečas, in particular, was guilty of overcomplicating plays—committing multiple turnovers in an effort to be overly creative. To his credit, he showed self-awareness as the game wore on, simplifying his approach in the third period and ultimately helping Colorado force overtime.
Malinski, who has been one of Colorado’s early-season revelations, delivered perhaps his most erratic performance to date. Throughout the night, he appeared unsettled — frequently misreading plays, drifting out of position, and mishandling routine passes. One particularly costly lapse culminated in Lawson Crouse’s highlight-reel one-timer off a perfectly threaded feed from Nick Schmaltz — a sequence that swung momentum sharply in Utah’s favor and gave the Mammoth a 2–1 lead.
It’d be convenient to blame everything on the blown call, but that, quite frankly, not only wouldn't be fair, but it also wouldn't be just.
Power Play Struggles
Colorado currently ranks 30th out of 32 teams with the man advantage—an astonishing statistic for a roster boasting this level of offensive talent. The perimeter-oriented approach has yielded minimal results, and an 11.5% conversion rate simply isn’t sustainable for a contender of this caliber.
The problem isn’t personnel; it’s a matter of execution and structural alignment. Something foundational within the team’s system is off-kilter. Early-season struggles can often be brushed aside with clichés like “we’ve had good looks,” but that reasoning won’t carry against disciplined, high-caliber teams such as Detroit, Montreal, Dallas, or Winnipeg. The season is long, yet these issues are best corrected sooner rather than later. In that context, while the blown call was undoubtedly unfortunate, it was hardly the primary reason Colorado fell — a host of underlying flaws collectively shaped the outcome we witnessed.
Next Game
The Avalanche (5-0-2) take on the Carolina Hurricanes (5-1) Thursday night at Ball Arena. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time.