Avs Give Jeff Carter A Pass And Take Well-Deserved Loss

I’ll just say it right now: this Avalanche team isn’t mean enough to win a second straight Stanley Cup. Well, not if what happened tonight stays that way at least.

If there was one thing I was SURE to bet on tonight, it was that the Avs would make Penguins veteran Jeff Carter pay, somehow, for his unpenalized cheap-shot elbow a couple months ago against Cale Makar.

That cheap shot put Makar out for a while, and he’s had various ailments since - including a “lower-body injury” that kept him out of tonight’s game with Carter and the Penguins at Ball Arena.

Final score: Penguins 5, Avalanche 2. Jeff Carter with two goals.

I think this Avs team has overcome a lot, but I don’t see them winning another Stanley Cup. Not at all. Not after that sad performance at home.