But Colorado, one of the league’s perennial contenders, pushed back in the second, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
“When they started to take momentum, I didn’t think we were able to put some shifts together to just pause it a little bit more,” Muse said.
Part of the issue was Pittsburgh’s power play, which has gone 0-for-20 since scoring twice in each of the first two games. They had a massive opportunity to swing the momentum after the Avalanche took a 3-2 lead. But they didn’t generate much in the first half before taking a penalty of their own. Colorado then scored on their abbreviated man-advantage.
“Obviously, it hasn’t really worked in our favor lately,” Karlsson said. “We have our top guys on the power play for a reason. And when you’re feeling good there, usually you feel good in the game, too. And obviously, the power play has been a little bit of a letdown for us lately. Maybe it’s bleeding a little bit into our game. It’s unfortunate. We just got to find a way to turn it around.”
They have to turn it around quick, with a rested Vegas team waiting for the Penguins on Saturday night. To find a better result, Rust said they need better consistency.
“I think we obviously liked our start and our first period a lot better, but I think good teams are consistent not only night to night, but also period to period,” Rust said. “I think we learned that lesson.”