It’s hard to say that was a bad season for the @Avalanche A great regular season. It’s was really fun as a fan to see them hum the way they did for most of the year. It is disappointing though, because in the end the team had the talent to win it all. The playoffs was like watching an F1 car struggle around the track, knowing something’s wrong with it, but not knowing what the issue was or how to really fix it. None of their adjustments ultimately yielded the desired result in the Vegas series. Was it close? In some ways, yes, it was. I think the better question to ask though is SHOULD it have been close? Against the Kings, no. Against the Wild, sure, that makes sense to me. But to get swept by Vegas? I agree, they are a very good team. Good enough to sweep this Avs lineup though? I’m sorry, but no, not that good. Something went horribly wrong in this series and maybe we will never truly know what the issues were. The guys know. Bednar knows. It’s not just injuries, and that’s not what we saw last night from them. My hope as a fan is simple. They sit down as an organization and have an honest talk. If Bednar believes and wants to do the job and comeback next year, I believe he has earned the respect to make that choice. If he has any doubts, than I think he owes it to the players, the organization, and to a lesser extent to the fans, to walk away with his head held high. They players need to know and agree to be bought into any and all changes the organization decides to make. If not, trades are in order. Player wise, there are things they need to really look at. On paper I don’t think anyone can argue this is an amazing team. But Cups are not won on paper. They are won on the ice. Something is off. I dunno if it’s chemistry or what, but you can’t tell me that was a 100% synced up group. They are missing something and you don’t have to go past their dreadful Power Play metrics to see a serious crack in their game. The inconsistent stretches, while few in numbers, when present were painful to watch. Take a month off. Heal. Reflect Then come back to the rink and decide if this season will all be for nothing or if this group will decide to build on it. I’ll miss @Avalanche hockey the next few weeks. As fans the pain of this season will be replaced by the excitement and hope in the new season. I know will be there Game 1 next season, and will cheer just as genuinely for them as I did every other year. Thanks guys for all the memories this year. Game 5 vs Minnesota was something I’ll always remember being at. ❤️🥅❤️🏒 @Avalanche @DNVR_Avalanche @NHLAvalancheCR @RadioMoser @RycroftMark @ConorMcGahey @guerillasports #goavsgo

This is not the @Avalanche team we saw play all year. Can they still find themselves in these last two periods? They seem so far off. Guys missing passes. Missing shots. Blowing coverages. Just out it sync. It’s really hard to make any sense of this. So much talent. Such poor results. Not scoring goals against the Kings. Minnesota was tough to watch a lot of times. Game 5 was the high point but also a mess most of the game. We had the best record, but have not played like the best team all playoffs. In 40 minutes we will either see these guys wake up, or the season will end and lead to what ought to be major changes.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt @Avalanche @ballarenadenver @NHL_On_TNT @NHLAvalancheCR @NHL @NHLPR @ConorMcGahey

This is our Valley Forge. Dig in. Believe. Fight. Win. @Avalanche

***INSPIRED BY AL PACINO IN “ANY GIVEN SUNDAY*** I don’t know what to say, boys. Three periods. Three periods to decide whether this season keeps breathing… or dies tonight. Everything we worked for… every skate in training camp, every bag skate, every bruise, every mile… it all comes down to this room, right now. We are down. Everybody sees the score. Everybody outside this room thinks we’re finished. Good. Let them. Because right now we’ve got two choices. We can sit here, hang our heads, and let them take everything from us. Or we can fight our way back. Shift by shift. Battle by battle. Puck by puck. That’s hockey. Not talent. Not headlines. Not excuses. Heart. Sacrifice. Blocking a shot when your body is screaming. Winning a battle on the boards when you’ve got nothing left. Backchecking when your lungs are burning. Trusting the guy next to you. That’s how you climb out. One shift at a time. One hit at a time. One save. One clear. One goal. You don’t win four games tonight. You win one period. Then the next one. Then the next shift. And when they push… we push harder. When they think we’re dead… we make them feel us coming. We are not buried unless we decide to stay down. So right now… we fight. Together. And we drag ourselves back into the light. @Avalanche @citchmook @DNVR_Avalanche @NHLAvalancheCR @NHL_On_TNT @NHL @StanleyCup @ConorMcGahey @RadioMoser @RycroftMark #goavsgo #findaway

GAME 3 @Avalanche Let’s go boys….. BROCK….GET ONE FOR US!!! MARTY ….GET ONE FOR US!!! NAZ ….GET ONE FOR US!!! CHOOCH ….GET ONE FOR US!!! NATE…..BE THE NATE WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE.

It’s been an amazing season so far. Filled with ups and downs. Tonight is a pivotal moment for the @Avalanche The need to win 4 of the next 5 games creates the ultimate challenge for a team that has the talent to accomplish the feat. There are a few people who believe, and many people who doubt their ability to do this. None of them matter. What matters is the warriors in the room. These men on the ice will determine their own fate. Blood, sweat, and tears. 60 minutes of dedication to who and what they want to be remembers as this season. This is where legends are made. Time to stand tall boys. Time to FIND A WAY!!!! @ballarenadenver @NHL_On_TNT @NHLAvalancheCR @NHL @StanleyCup @RadioMoser @ConorMcGahey @kylekeefetv @RycroftMark #goavsgo #findaway #RISE @citchmook @landysknee92 @guerillasports @DNVR_Avalanche

This was the most amazing sporting event I have ever attended.

GAME 5 VIBES #goavsgo @Avalanche

AVS mood….. @Avalanche @NHL_On_TNT @NHL @StanleyCup

The Minnesota Mild are apparently going to take to the streets with their cute little whistles in protest of the inhumane treatment of their players. How cute. @mnwild @Avalanche @NHL_On_TNT @NHL @StanleyCup

0 Wins thus far. Kings have the market cornered when it comes to being the biggest loser bud.

Game 1 LFG. #goavsgo

Good Times!!! @Avalanche @ballarenadenver #goavsgo

I took a look on YouTube for Blankenburg highlights, and I noticed there seems to be more than a few during a power play Hmmmm, interesting. I then put AI to work and asked if there is any data that supports if Blankenburg has some stats that support he has some value in that role…. Joe, I pulled the most reliable season usage + production context available. Because NHL sites rarely publish a clean “PP catalyst ranking,” the best way to evaluate this is with power-play production vs. opportunity and then compare that to elite PP defensemen. Below is the closest apples-to-apples breakdown. ⸻ 1️⃣ Nick Blankenburg — Power-Play Profile 2025-26 season (current) •Games: ~40 •Goals: 5–6 •Assists: ~14–15 •Points: ~19–21 •PP TOI / game: ~1:50 •Power-play role: PP2 / secondary QB •Estimated PP points: ~6–7 2024-25 season •Games: 60 •Points: 16 •PP TOI / game: ~1:00 •PP role: secondary unit ✔ Interpretation: He gets real PP minutes, but not primary-unit quarterback deployment. ⸻ 2️⃣ Production Rate vs Opportunity (PP Points / 60) This stat normalizes for usage and is the best way to detect “catalyst” value. Nick Blankenburg SeasonPP TOI/GEst PPPPPP/60 (est) 2025-26~1:50~7~3.2 2024-25~1:00~4~3.0 Combined •~3.1 PPP/60 ✔ That is solid middle-tier PP production for defensemen. ⸻ 3️⃣ Top NHL Power-Play Defensemen (2025-26) These guys drive their teams’ power plays. PlayerPPPPP TOI/GPPP/60 Quinn Hughes~26~4:30~6.0 Evan Bouchard~22~4:15~5.2 Miro Heiskanen~21~4:00~5.1 Cale Makar~20~4:00~5.0 Example: Hughes leads NHL defensemen with ~26 power-play points this season. ⸻ 4️⃣ Percentile Comparison (Approximate) TierPPP/60 Elite PP QB (Top 10)4.8 – 6.5 Top-pair PP D3.8 – 4.8 Secondary PP contributor2.8 – 3.6 Depth usage<2.5 Blankenburg: ~3.1 ➡️ Upper-middle secondary PP contributor ⸻ 5️⃣ Where He Ranks vs Top 20 NHL Defensemen If you compare him to the top 20 PP defensemen in the NHL: CategoryResult Raw PP pointsOutside Top 20 PP time on iceOutside Top 30 PPP/60 rate~Top 40–60 range ⸻ 6️⃣ The Real Takeaway Blankenburg is not a power-play driver, but he is: ✔ productive for his usage ✔ capable of QB-ing a second unit ✔ efficient when he gets PP time He’s basically a “good complementary PP defenseman.” Think: •not Makar / Hughes / Fox •closer to secondary puck movers who chip in points ⸻ ✅ Simple conclusion If you look strictly at the analytics: He is not a top-tier PP catalyst in the NHL. But relative to his role and ice time, his power-play efficiency is respectable. ⸻ 💡 If you want, I can also show you something very interesting analytically: Why Nashville fans think Blankenburg might actually be a hidden offensive defenseman (his *5-on-5 scoring rate vs ice time is unusually high). That comparison actually gets more intriguing than the PP data. @Avalanche @AltitudeTV @ConorMcGahey @RadioMoser @citchmook @landysknee @Mackinnon9 @evanrawal @DNVR_Avalanche @NHLAvalancheCR @ColHockeyNow @coavsdaily @ColoradoEagles @TheCOAvalanche #goavsgo @AdoHernandez27 @guerillasports

LOUD NOISES!!! #GoAvsGo #builtdifferent @Avalanche @ballarenadenver

Let’s Go Avs!!!! #GoAvsGo #BuiltDifferent