Nathan MacKinnon unloaded four shots on the Penguins. He saved at least four more for his coaches afterwards.
“I don’t like seven (defensemen),” said the Avalanche star, whose West-leading crew hosts Dallas, the No. 2 seed in the conference, on Wednesday night at Ball Arena. “Different D pairs every shift isn’t great. The flow is off, for sure.”
Communication? Also off.
“We need everyone on the same page,” MacKinnon stressed after a puzzling, plodding 7-2 home loss to Pittsburgh late Monday. “We need more communication before the game (and in) meetings. Really know what we’re going to do over and over again … it felt like we’ve been pretty good, and then Winnipeg (happened) and then (Monday) was just off again … can’t really explain it. It’s been like that all season.”
Strategy? Also, also off.
“Lines and (defensive) pairs need to sit down and go through clips and figure out what our system is right now,” MacKinnon offered. “Too much passing around the perimeter. The only good shift of the game we had was when (Brent Burns) took four shots from the strong side and then they (got) one on the net. So that’s how we have to play. We’re too perimeter. We don’t shoot enough. We haven’t had 30 shots in four games now. Which is very, very rare for us.”
Lineups? Also, also, also off.
Devon Toews (7) and Cale Makar (8) of the Colorado Avalanche react after a goal by Elmer Soderblom (25) of the Pittsburgh Penguins on goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) during the first period at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“I think chemistry matters, and if a guy’s used to playing center, filling in … it’s no one’s fault,” MacKinnon continued. “(We’ve had) a lot of different line combinations lately, for everybody, so it’s hard. It sounds like an excuse, but (Monday) was just bad, too… It was one of those nights that just (stunk).”
By cracky, did Nate and the Avs stink up the joint Monday before a full house and far too many happy Yinzers?
The defense stunk. The juice stunk. The power play stunk, although we’re used to that. Scott Wedgewood stunk in goal (three goals allowed in five shots faced), which we’re not used to at all. Mackenzie Blackwood replaced Wedgie after Colorado trailed 3-1 and stunk slightly less.
“Guys getting beat, guys getting out-competed, just not digging in enough,” was how coach Jared Bednar explained it later. “And we’re giving up easy chances … that start is not on (Wedgewood) at all. Like, what’s he gonna do? Like some of the chances that we’re giving up are guys all alone at the net-front, kind of the same as Edmonton. We just talked about it, right? So we fixed it for Winnipeg, and then it’s back again (Monday).”
For Bednar, that Penguins tilt was damning on two fronts. The first was the performance itself — a discombobulated mess, a good hockey team making October mistakes in mid-March. The Avs handed the locals a perfect storm of bad: Sleepy goaltending, lousy shooting (two goals in 27 attempts), and professionals playing like complete strangers defensively. Which, to hear MacKinnon tell it, maybe they were.
The second pain was the timing. Between a disastrous first period and a sloppy second on Chopper Circle, Dallas got busy falling at home to Utah, 6-3, ending a 15-point streak for the hard-charging Stars.
The Mammoth handed Dallas its first regulation loss since January 22 and its first home defeat in two months. Monday evening was a golden chance to open up at least a little breathing space before Wednesday’s visit from Dallas (42-15-10), which trails Colorado (44-13-9) by just three points (97-94), even though the Avs have a game in hand.
The Penguins (34-18-15) were at the end of a grueling, four-city, six-day road trip. Oh, and were playing without Sidney Crosby. So, yeah, not good. Not good at all.
Brock Nelson (11) of the Colorado Avalanche gets stuffed by Arturs Silovs (37) of the Pittsburgh Penguins as Ben Kindel (81) defends during the third period at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“I know everyone is talking about Wednesday,” Colorado center Brock Nelson mused, “but this one (Monday) was equally as big.”
The Avs didn’t show it. Colorado managed to force a tie game — 1-1 — for all of 15 seconds before Pittsburgh’s Anthony Mantha zipped past the entire Avs defense and, with Cale Makar riding his back, slotted home a 2-1 Penguins lead just 4:23 into the tilt.
About eight-and-a-half minutes later, Evgeni Malkin was left all alone at point-blank range to fire the visitors into a 3-1 cushion. Bednar responded by yanking Wedgewood, only for Elmer Soderblom to beat Blackwood 43 seconds later to make it a 4-1 contest. And no contest at all, really.
“That kind of (stuff) happens, but you don’t want it to, no matter what,” Wedgewood told me after the game. “And yeah, I mean, if you dwell on it, you’re in a much worse situation. I got a good (eye) on that. I just lost it.”
“Did you guys get caught looking ahead at all?” I wondered.
“I mean, (Wednesday is) obviously important,” Wedgewood replied. “Everyone knows it’s on schedule. It’s circled. You know what it means … (You) get up and prepare. But no, there’s still a lot of hockey before the games really, really matter, right?”
Still, some games matter a heck of a lot more than others. The best three teams in hockey all play in the Central Division. I hate the Presidents’ Trophy more than the next guy, but that No. 1 seed has more weight this time around.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Avs topping the Stanley Cup bracket would also condemn Dallas and Minnesota (38-18-12) to play one another in the first round — an absolute cage fight that, in the NHL’s infinite wisdom, would immediately eliminate somebody who could win the whole thing. You know, the way the Avs were eliminated in seven games by Dallas 11 months ago. If the Stars leapfrog Colorado in the standings? Hello, St. Paul.
Nathan MacKinnon (29) of the Colorado Avalanche skates back to a face-off after a failed offensive possession against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“Yeah, it was a big game (Monday),” MacKinnon said. “That was a game we kind of had to win. So, hopefully, we can bounce back.”
Hopefully, Bednar smells what Nate Dogg is cooking. Hopefully, he listens.
“Some of those breakdowns, I think, can be easily cured,” the coach reflected. “But, I mean, I think we’re going (to have to) talk more and we’ve got to get more competitive. A couple of them, we got beat up the ice (to have) guys all alone. A couple of them, we got beat off the walls (to have) guys all alone. And it’s just not good enough.”
It won’t be against Dallas, either. We’ll know Thursday morning whether Pittsburgh was a wake-up call or a warning siren. Buckle up.
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