It’s just one game, but Avs get a rude reminder this won’t be like last year

It’s just one game.

One loss.

One blemish on what should hopefully be a long playoff run.

But as the Avalanche try to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, their debut against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night left a lot to be desired. Colorado came out flat in all three periods, giving up early goals in each frame that deflated the Ball Arena crowd. Those were enough to help them lose 3-1, and fall into an early series deficit.

The turnover by Devon Toews fewer than four minutes into the game just can’t happen. The normally steady defenseman gave the puck away in prime real estate. Alexandar Georgiev made one save to bail him out, but couldn’t come up with the second.

And while a glorious goal from Nathan MacKinnon to Mikko Rantanen got things squared up at one, Colorado had a sloppy change in the second period that led to another Kraken goal. The Avs played some of their best hockey to end the second, but our old friend (nemesis?) Philipp Grubauer was excellent, somehow keeping the puck out of the net.

The third period was déjà vu all over again, as Colorado gave up yet another one early on. Seattle struck 4:03 in to go up 3-1, and that was essentially a wrap. The fans were restless, the Kraken went into ultra-defensive mode and it was abundantly clear which team was going to take a 1-0 series lead.

This is a rude reminder these playoffs won’t be similar to last year. The Avalanche went 16-4 and completed two sweeps. That just doesn’t happen. The 2021-2022 Avs were historically great, this team is simply good.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but they don’t have the same out amount of star power or depth that the championship team a season ago possessed.

Gabriel Landeskog’s absence is huge. Nazem Kadri and his grit are gone. And Cale Makar and Josh Manson looked rusty as they returned from injuries that robbed them the end of their regular seasons.

Who can be an unlikely hero like we saw last year? Darren Helm and Andrew Cogliano both had their big moments — but neither was on the ice for Game 1. Health is still a concern with each, but head coach Jared Bednar might need to find a way to get them in the lineup soon. Like, Game 2 soon.

The Avalanche’s depth was nowhere to be found. The top-line played fine, but the rest of the team played like ghosts. That has to change moving forward.

It’s one bad night at the office. One ugly effort we hopefully won’t remember in two months. But it was one game that showed the stark differences between last season’s team and this one.

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