There's Something About Boston...

The new-look Avs played well. Give it time.

Hear me out: It’s going to be okay. 

Yesterday in Boston, high up in the Rafters Club of TD Garden, I witnessed firsthand that the Colorado are not dead in the wake of Mikko Rantanen’s sudden departure to Carolina the night before. 

Sure, they only managed one goal in a 3-1 loss to the Bruins, a game that they easily could have (and probably should have) won. But pointing to the trade of our top goalscorer the night before as a reason for the inability to find the back of the net would be shortsighted. Mikko didn't score in his last six games in an Avs sweater. Since the start of January, Rantanen has three goals with only two coming against goalies. 

This isn’t meant to sound like I am poo-poo’ing a player with 25 goals through January. I am merely putting out in the world that the first game the Avalanche played in the post-Mikko Era has the same issues scoring that they had in the final six or seven games of the Mikko Era.

From high above the ice and behind Jeremy Swayman for 40 minutes of play, I did notice a few things, though…