It appears the Avalanche has lost its identity and needs more toughness and attention to detail in the “dirty” areas from its top players.
The Avs put together an eight-game points streak to begin the season with a healthy lineup and went 8-0-1 in late November/early December while missing star wingers Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, among others, because of injury for most of that stretch.
But they are 4-7-1 since their last unbeaten streak with a relatively healthy lineup and searching for answers. They blew another third-period lead Friday and lost 4-3 in overtime to the banged-up Pittsburgh Penguins, who were missing superstar Sidney Crosby and four other key players.