Avalanche on brink of elimination in Western 1st Round after Game 5 loss

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche have not looked like the defending Stanley Cup champions in the Western Conference First Round, and now they're on the brink of elimination after
a 3-2 loss
to the Seattle Kraken in Game 5 at Ball Arena on Wednesday leaves them behind 3-2 in the best-of-7 series.

Their repeat bid can end abruptly in Game 6 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Friday (10 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS, ROOT-NW, ALT).
"I still feel like we haven't played anywhere near our best," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "And give them credit. Give Seattle credit. You have to give them a lot of credit. But at the end of the day, I just want our guys play to the best of their ability in one game and see what happens."
Yes, give the Kraken credit. They might be making their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in their second season in the NHL, but they had 100 points (46-28-8) in the regular season. They're deep, fast, aggressive. Legit. They have much to do with how the Avalanche have looked.
But the only "A" the Avalanche have put on the ice is their logo.
"It's tough," Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. "Yeah, we didn't have our A-game or our B-game tonight. I don't know why. We've just got to find a way to bring Game 7 back here."
RELATED: [Complete Avalanche vs. Kraken series coverage]
The Avalanche haven't been the same team they were last season. They have lost depth and battled injuries, most notably losing forwards Andre Burakovsky and Nazem Kadri in free agency and captain
Gabriel Landeskog
to a knee injury.
Now consider that forward Valeri Nichushkin hasn't played the past three games for personal reasons. Defenseman Cale Makar -- the reigning winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted the playoffs' most valuable player last season -- was suspended for Game 5 for interference on Kraken forward Jared McCann in Game 4. Defenseman Josh Manson left Game 5 because of a lower-body injury.
Look at some of the ice times in Game 5: MacKinnon played 27:01. Defenseman Bowen Byram played 26:38, defenseman Devon Toews 25:14, defenseman Samuel Girard 23:46 and forward Mikko Rantanen 23:35. The issue isn't the workload as much as the fact the Avalanche had no real choice.
Rantanen has five goals in the series. MacKinnon has three. Six others have one each.
"If guys are really going and on their games, then we don't necessarily have to shorten our bench," Bednar said. "But we've got some guys that aren't getting a lot done, and you're playing tight games, and you're playing from behind, and you're going to go with your horses."
Depth doesn't explain everything, though. The Avalanche have allowed the first goal and taken the first penalty in each game in the series. They have taken too long to get to their game, while the Kraken have taken it to them.
"We talk about it, and somehow they still find a way to score the first goal," Rantanen said. "Maybe it looks like with the puck we're a little bit tight. We just want to maybe get rid of it too early. Got to have a little confidence more on the offensive side of it. We're kind of forcing plays, and then when we have time, we want to get rid of it. We've just got to reset and relax a little bit. We're kind of a little bit tight."
Maybe the Avalanche are overconfident or complacent against the underdogs. Maybe they're playing under the weight of pressure while the Kraken are free and easy with no expectations. Bednar said the Avalanche need a mental reset.
"They're doing exactly what we thought they'd do -- checking hard, getting back above pucks, taking away time and space -- and we seem to be getting frustrated, like we're not expecting it," Bednar said.

Maybe the Avalanche are just tired after a short offseason and a long regular season. They pushed for the Central Division title, going 31-7-4 after Jan. 12 and 7-0-1 in their last eight games.
"It's not easy this time of year," Toews said. "A lot of us have battled for this whole year to get to this point. Our season wasn't easy with injuries and whatnot, so guys have had to play big minutes. Our top guys are what drive us, and they're carrying us up front right now."
Toews said it hasn't taken too much out of them, though.
"We feel like we have the energy to do it," he said. "Obviously it's not easy with that short summer, but we earned that one, and now we've got to earn another one."
They're running out of time.
"I think we're just shooting ourselves in the foot," MacKinnon said. "I know it's cliché to say, but I think there's plays to be made out there and we're just not making them for whatever reason right now. It's not a matter of work or competitiveness or anything like that. I don't know.
"I don't know exactly what's been going on, but we have still a chance to turn it around here."