Even though Matt Duchene and the Dallas Stars were eliminated more than a week ago, let’s review how the Avs concluded the season…

More than a week has passed since Game Six’s final seconds saw Matt Duchene and the Dallas Stars defeat the Colorado Avalanche.

It also meant that for the Avs, the season had reached its midnight, since they eventually lost a game that was eventually going to go their way. They attempted their best to push it off, but couldn’t do so any longer.

I’ve been sitting on this essay ever since, but I simply wanted to make sure the right things were expressed in the proper way.

In addition, a lot of other things have been getting in the way. In the end, a lot of things had to go well for them to advance.

When they went all the way to win the Stanley Cup in 2022, we witnessed it. Here are a some of the areas where it failed to fall this time around.

Even though Colorado dominated on the power play, it faltered towards the conclusion of the second quarter. Even at full strength, they were having a hard time getting by and reaching Jake Oettinger.

The Avs were clearly the superior team overall, but they were unable to put together enough plays to even have good chances at the net in Game Three.

Colorado was unable to adjust and change at even strength and power play, while Dallas was able to do so.

Both Jared Bednar and Pete DeBoer are outstanding coaches, but Pete seemed to be ahead of him. Simply put, one club had a stronger, more cohesive, more well-rounded roster than the other.

Reliance on depth

Speaking of depth, it was crucial to the Stars’ success in the postseason. While players like Miles Wood and Casey Mittelstadt flourished in the postseason, the first of the two mentioned above was merely marginally effective in the first round and was forgotten in the second. The performance of Andrew Cogliano declined, and he ceased to be a top veteran and more of a burden.

Undoubtedly, the announcement of Valeri Nichushkin’s departure had an effect, particularly in Game Four when it was made mere hours before the puck dropped.

Nichushkin was the leading goal scorer in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at the time, and his ability to compete for pucks and get to the front of the net was much missed.

We ultimately discovered that, despite his impressive skating videos, Gabriel Landeskog was far from mastering the ice. It was clear that Logan O’Connor was missing from the third “Roaring 20s” line.

Such feats by those in the top six of the lineup were never repeated by players like Joel Kiviranta, Chris Wagner, or Nikolai Kovalenko.

As the Avs demonstrated in 2022, players can fight through injuries and maintain some degree of health. But this season, things didn’t work out that way.

dependent on individual players as opposed to the group

Lastly, Alexandar Georgiev is the clear choice for the Avalanche’s MVP of the postseason. After giving up seven goals on 23 shots in Game One against the Winnipeg Jets, the fans were shouting for his head, but he has recovered masterfully ever since.

He prolonged the Avs’ postseason existence and kept them competitive by acting as the team’s glue in the latter stages. After his postseason performance, he will undoubtedly be the preferred option going forward. But he wasn’t able to handle it by himself.

Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar tried their hardest to get ahead as well.