A good start to the game, but they were down; then a really good second period but can only manage to slice a deficit in half, followed by costly mistakes by veterans with the game on the line. Sound familiar? Three keys in Blues' 4-1 loss vs. Avalanche (11-1-23) Welcome to the St. Louis Blues, who once again found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-1 score against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday at Ball Arena in Denver. It wasn't quote the meltdown as to what transpired last Friday against the Vancouver Canucks, but the result was similar. And it came down to execution, or lack thereof, a power play that continues to zap momentum, and playing consistent hockey after the Blues played really well in the middle 20 minutes with the game on the line. With that in mind, let's dive into the three keys from Wednesday: 1. The power play continues to be a big problem -- Four more times -- well, we won't count the fourth one since it came with 20 seconds remaining and the game over. But three times on Wednesday, the Blues had a chance to grab command, take momentum, whatever you want to call it, with the man advantage, and once again, failed. They actually played pretty good to start this game out, then were given a chance to go up 1-0 when Mikko Rantanen was called for tripping 3:23 into the contest. And the Blues actually had sustained zone time but as often has been the case, were relegated to the perimeter and put no shots on Ivan Prosvetov, another goalie with paltry numbers (4-6-1 with a 4.03 goals-against average and .783 save percentage in 14 games -- 11 starts -- coming in, in his NHL career) the Blues made look good. An Andrew Cogliano hook at 7:59 gave the Blues another chance in a 2-0 game and although they got two shots, it was still no high-danger looks, but the big one was late in the second, after Robert Thomas scored to make it a 2-1 game late in the second, Josh Manson was whistled for holding at 19:06. Even of the Blues can't even it up before the end of the period, they had a solid 1:06 to begin the third to get the equalizer. Justin Faulk's clapper from the high slot hit the left post was about the best chance the Blues got, and moments later, the Avs scored to make it 3-1 and suck the life out of the Blues again, keeping their PP at a league-worst four percent (1-for-25). It's their worst start to a season through eight games on the power play since opening 1-for-29 in 1973-74. 2. Lack of defensive net front presence hurt -- The Blues haven't been hurt by the opposition camping out in front of Jordan Binnington, or Joel Hofer, this season often, but it hurt on Wednesday. On Colorado's second goal, a power-play marker scored by Rantanen at 13:19 of the first period to make it 2-0 Avalanche, the Avalanche worked the puck around to the right side for Cale Makar, who found Rantanen in the right circle. The Finn skated in and whipped a shot top shelf short side on Binnington with two forwards camped in front with no resistance since defenseman Marco Scandella had to move up and challenge the shooter because forwards Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas were caught on the left side of the ice, and in essence, leaving the crease area open. On Colorado's killer third goal to make it 3-1 at 1:41, Artturi Lehkonen was camped out in front alone on an island to poke home a loose puck after the Blues got scrambling in their zone and shifted coverage. Defenseman Colton Parayko left the crease to chase the puck carrier behind the net and the forwards didn't shift down low offering help. 3. Consistently inconsistent is a theme -- This game was a microcosm of the Blues' season thus far. They started off well, with puck possession, forechecking, cycling in the Colorado end for about the first 7-8 minutes, then their level dipped a bit and they're down two after one. Ball Arena is a tough place for visitors in the second period because of the long change, and skaters can get caught out of position, mismanage pucks and you're out there for lengthy shifts, but the Blues played as close to exceptional of a second as can be and left themselves down only 2-1. And with the game in the balance again, their level of play dipped, two costly giveaways by Torey Krug on a stretch pass picked off in the neutral zone led to the third goal, and Brayden Schenn's giveaway on the fourth goal sealed Colorado's win. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxOTA3NzAwODA2NzIyNzE5/thn_archive_main_hero_v3_1600x900.jpg]
