Loss to Blues demonstrates Avalanche still have some work to do

Undoubtedly, the Colorado Avalanche have been a breath of fresh air for a Denver fanbase starved for a winner following a season of dashed hopes from the Colorado Rockies and another sub-.500 effort from the Denver Broncos.

Even with a loss to defending champion St. Louis, Colorado sits in second place — behind the Blues — in the Central Division and Western Conference. And by just three points.

But the Blues exposed one wart plaguing the Avs this season to the tune of a game-flipping two-goal sequence in the second period on Monday.

Colorado had been riding a 2-1 lead over St. Louis late in the second period when a high stick from Avs forward Nazem Kadri caught Colton Parayko, drawing blood and a double-minor.

Shortly after, the Blues scored once in the first two minutes of the penalty — one of David Perron’s three goals on the night — and against in the second two minutes (Vince Dunn from Tyler Bozak and Justin Faulk).

In the span of a few moments, Colorado went from heading toward the final period up by a goal and looking to take first place in the conference to down to the reigning Stanley Cup champs because of a poor penalty kill.

Through Monday night’s game, the Avs rank near the bottom of the league in penalty kill percentage — 20th at 78.5 percent. Another bad omen, Colorado ranks 23rd in penalty minutes per game (9.1) and 22nd in power-play opportunities against (23).

Certainly, this is a young, high-flying group of Avs players who will be fun to watch in the coming months and, hopefully, years. But it’s clear that there’s still some work to do.

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