Questionable hit takes down Cale Makar in Avs 4-0 loss to Sabres

The Colorado Avalanche haven't scored a goal in the last two games as the team struggles to find its chemistry.

Cale Makar suffered a scary crash into the boards after a questionable, unpenalized hit from Buffalo Sabres' Kyle Okposo in the Avalanche's 4-0 loss Sunday afternoon.  

Buffalo's defense shut down the Avalanche's scoring chances but Colorado has struggled to find its groove in the last two games. Exceptional goaltending from Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also contributed to the Avalanche's second consecutive shutout loss — something the team hasn't done since 2016. 

"Sometimes you go stretches when you score six a game and you get a little bit lucky and now feel like we're not getting lucky. Pucks going through the goalies feet and still missing the net somehow.

"Got to try to find a way, not get frustrated. Sometimes it's tough when you don't score, just got to stay with it," Mikko Rantanen said after the loss. 

JJ Peterka capitalized on a turnover from Josh Manson to score the first goal for the Sabres.

Casey Mittelstadt made it 2-0 less than two minutes into the second period and former Avalanche forward Tyson Jost scored at 11:44 to put the Sabres up 3-0. 

Okposo shoved Makar into the boards in the second period, which sent the Avs defenseman to the locker room for the remainder of the period. There was no penalty called on the play. Fortunately, Makar returned in the third period. 

"I don't know why there's no penalty. It's pretty obvious, I think," Rantanen said. "I get called every time I do that even if it's not high speed like that. I don't know what the refs saw there."

Nathan MacKinnon was assessed a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct and an additional 10-minute misconduct following the hit on Makar. 

Rasmus Dahlin hit the empty net with three minutes left in the game to make it 4-0. 

"No excuses, I mean we got to be better taking care of the puck through the neutral zone and we got to continue to work to try and create those high danger chances and I thought they did a better job of that tonight than we did," head coach Jared Bednar said.  

As one of the leaders on the team, Devon Toews expressed the frustration the team is dealing with and explained what needs to change. 

"There's no fluidity to our game right now. There's no flow to the way we want to play consistently," Toews said. "A lot of it is just structural issues. I think guys are working, trying to work but it's not within our structure — it's not what we do exactly, So yeah, it gets frustrating with that."

Toews said the team still hasn't played their best but that some players think they're playing better than they really are — something he said needs to be addressed. 

Alexandar Georgiev gave up four goals on 29 shots but played the best defense of the game for the Avalanche. Breakdowns on passes and turnovers cost the Avs another straight loss after starting the season undefeated in the first six games. 

The Avalanche face the St. Louis Blues at Ball Arena on Wednesday. While the Central Division rival has struggled to start its season with a 3-3-1 record, the Avalanche need to figure out how to get a puck in the net, especially past nemesis Jordan Binnington.