At the Avalanche’s first practice after a loss to St. Louis last week, coach Jared Bednar responded to a question about potential injuries from that game by half-jokingly commenting that Colorado “made it through one.”
The luck was short-lived.
The Avalanche blew a third-period lead and lost 4-3 to Vancouver on Wednesday night, adding insult to injury after a prolonged stretch when lineups on the ice barely resembled Colorado’s championship-defending roster.
Ethan Bear scored the game-winner with exactly 8:00 remaining.
Meanwhile, bad injury luck continues to torment the Avs (11-6-1). On a day when defenseman Sam Girard returned from an injury that sidelined him for six games, Evan Rodrigues exited with a lower body injury and didn’t return after the first intermission.