Flynn's Takes
Flynn’s Take: Avs Needed Big Win, Suffered Epic, Embarassing Loss
And just like that, the Avalanche’s season is over. The ending came as much of a shock to the players as it did the fans.
For most of the Game 7 loss, the Avs controlled the play. But then Mikko Rantanen scored a goal in the third period. And then another. Wyatt Johnston scored the game-winner, but Rantanen put the icing on the cake to complete a hat trick with an empty-netter. He even assisted on Johnston’s tally.
“That’s the thing with Mikko, it’s not about always just creating multiple chances like every time he touches the puck, but big moments,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Look at that first goal — pretty nice individual effort, rips it off the bar down and finds a way to get the other one on the wrap around. Hits our skate, but it’s still a high-quality play and he capitalizes on it. He can capitalize, that’s what he is. He’s a pure goal scorer. He did that in the third.”
Unbelievable, devastating, painful — all words used to describe the season-ending defeat. But shock was what the players felt following the 4-2 loss.
“It’s pretty shocking. Felt like we were in total control, and then Mikko, credit to him, he made some amazing plays. He was a difference maker and he took over. I don’t know. I’m in shock, to be honest with you. Felt like we were in complete control of the game the whole time and just lost it.” Nathan MacKinnon said.
“Yeah, it’s pretty early on, so it’s hard to put into words other than it sucks,” Gabriel Landeskog said. “It really sucks. Just wasn’t ready to stop playing, to be honest.”
READ MORE: Season Over: Rantanen Gets Last Laugh — Avalanche Blow It in Game 7
The 32-year-old captain said they could sit and try to figure out “we should’ve done this, should’ve done that,” but the result doesn’t change. It’s one of the toughest losses for a team to swallow, having been up 1-0 for more than 10 minutes and then 2-0 for more than eight minutes, only to be defeated by three goals in less than nine minutes.
“We felt like our play was good enough 5-on-5, and we controlled the pace of the game. Even when it went 2-1, I felt like we weathered it well. Just seemed … unlucky,” Cale Makar said.
The question now is — “Where do we go from here?” While there are no immediate answers, the initial blame falls on GM Chris MacFarland. The biggest topic at hand in his regard is the trade of the player who ultimately sealed the team’s fate in the end.
Once the shock wears off and the dust settles, expect some moves to happen in one way or another. My thought is Joe Sakic moves back into the GM position to guide and prepare Andrew Cogliano to take over the position in the next season or two. But we shall see what transpires over the offseason.
