Weekly Notebook: I'm Choosing Hope

Avs treading water, but the promise is still there.

What a weird season. And it’s just the start of November.

Four down. Five up. Three down. All leads to 5-7.

And who is to blame for this? Well, I don't think you can pinpoint it on ONE person in particular, but several contributing factors coming together all at once. Sure, you can certainly point at the goaltending of Alexandar Georgiev in his six starts as not being good enough. And you’d be right as he boasts a 4.62 goals-against average, an .822 save percentage and has allowed backup Justus Annunen to usurp the No. 1 spot with far better play between the pipes.

Blame can also be laid at the feet of Val Nichushkin for his continued absence from the lineup for indiscretions during last season’s postseason. Maybe things are different if the Avs have another top-level talent playing in their top-six right now that would lead to a change in the makeup of the forward core.

But, I think the problem lies somewhere in a mixture of the above and… injuries.