Takeaways From Loss To Winnipeg: Toews TO Led To Downfall

Devon Toews has been a marvel for the Avalanche since Joe Sakic heisted him away from the Islanders four years ago. He was amply rewarded with a long-term contract earlier this season.

But it was his ghastly decision to try and fire a puck up the wall and out of the zone with time about to run out in the first period that, to me anyway, was the primary reason why the Avs lost to the Winnipeg Jets last night, 4-2.

Toews was trying to just get the puck back up to the point to a teammate but it was picked off and before you knew it, Adam Lowry put the puck past Alexandar Georgiev with 2.2 seconds left for a 1-0 Jets lead.

The smart play, obviously, would have been just to rag the puck behind the net for a couple more seconds and let the clock run out on a scoreless first period.

Mistakes happen, but that one helped lose two points in a division game. But Toews was far from the only Av not to bring their A game last night.

My takeaways: