Colorado Avalanche Face Struggles as Key Forwards Remain Out, Challenging Stanley Cup Aspirations
Avalanche player Ross Colton will be out for a while due to blocking a shot with his foot in the recent game against the Blackhawks, as stated by head coach Jared Bednar to reporters, including Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette. He was able to move around after the game but departed Ball Arena wearing a walking boot.
Colton, who was 28 years old, had taken on the responsibility of filling those gaps as effectively as possible. Planned to play as the third center after Nathan MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt, Colton is now playing as the left winger on the first line with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
He has replied with eight goals leading the team and four power-play goals leading the league, playing an average of 18:38 per game and keeping up his physical style of play. He is the team leader in hits with 28 and also leads Avs forwards in blocks with nine, but this has unfortunately resulted in what appears to be a several-week absence.
The Colorado forward group is facing another challenge with Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, and Valeri Nichushkin out for the entire season, and Jonathan Drouin missing every game except the season opener. Rawal recently announced that Drouin’s upper-body injury has improved, indicating that he is nearing his return and is now considered day-to-day. However, for a team aiming for the Stanley Cup, not having its top four wingers all at once, especially for most of a month, understandably seems like a never-ending and overwhelming obstacle.
In the 2024-25 season, the Colorado Avalanche started off as one of the top five teams favored to win the Stanley Cup. However, their campaign began slowly with four consecutive defeats.
The team lost their first game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights away, and then proceeded to lose three consecutive games at home. Alexandar Georgiev was the goalie for three of the losses against the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, and Boston Bruins. Next, on October 18, the team secured their inaugural victory of the season against the Anaheim Ducks in overtime, before embarking on a three-game road trip.
On October 20, the team competed against the San Jose Sharks, securing their second consecutive victory, and then went on to beat the Seattle Kraken on October 22. The team’s latest victory was a 5-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club, improving their season record to 4-4-0. After facing the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, the Avalanche will have a back-to-back game against the Chicago Blackhawks at home. That will happen prior to ending the month on Wednesday with a home match against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Image Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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