The Colorado Avalanche have been playing very well lately, winning their seventh straight game on home ice last night when they defeated the St. Louis Blues.
The Avs have been inconsistent with their collective efforts throughout the course of the 2011-12 season so far, and no one really knows how the team will play in any given game. Some nights the Avs play a full 60 minute hockey game, and other games they may come out with a strong start in the first period; some games they do it for two periods, however, whether the Avs come out with a win or a loss, the team has been inconsistent with giving a full 60 minute effort throughout the course of entire hockey game.
In their inconsistency putting together a full 60 minute effort, the Avalanche have shown a strong consistency in one particular area: Being able to bounce back from a loss and get back on track.
As we saw after last season’s all-star break, the young Avalanche squad was too easily discouraged after a loss, or a series of losses, and never recovered. This year, we are not seeing that anymore—we are seeing a resilient group of players that don’t get discouraged after a tough loss, and despite the opinions of many Avalanche critics, the Avalanche, with their seventh straight home win against St. Louis have improved their record this season to .500.
The Avalanche have one game remaining on their homestand before the Christmas break and lots of road games in January. Through the team’s inconsistency in their effort, they have shown strong consistency in their ability to bounce back from a tough loss and if they can maintain that consistency, and improve their consistency in playing a full 60 minute effort in their games, they will be a force to reckon with in the playoff race in the NHL’s Western Conference.
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