Why do I do this to myself?

Early this morning, my good buddy Carl Landra from The 4th Line Podcast sent me a challenge. You see, he’s an Avs fan and he offered me redemption on a bet I lost when the two teams last met. That one resulted in me having to write an article on how great of a player Claude Lemieux was. It was painful. Today?

Send me the jersey, Carl, for this team let me down again.

Nathan MacKinnon is a jerk. He’s the reason for the early first period goal that kick-started the Avs’ 5-1 victory. MacKinnon walked along the blueline and wired the shot towards the crowded net front. Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche captain, deflected it past Jared Coreau.

Then, towards the end of the first period. Blake Comeau created a 2-1 rush and was the last player to touch the puck before it went into the net. The first was a hard fought battle as the teams got into each others’ faces frequently. It almost felt like the old days, except the Wings were without their half dozen hall of famers.

In the second period, MacKinnon turned on his jets as he sped into the offensive zone. He beat DeKeyser and backhanded it top shelf, far side. I don’t know if Coreau could have done anything differently. MacKinnon’s shot was just so precise.

The Wings tried crawling back into it only a minute later when Abdelkader was gifted the puck all alone in the slot. He showed great patience and sniped it upstairs past Semyon Varlamov.

In the third period, the Avs closed it out with another goal by Nathan MacKinnon. Once again, he used his speed to rush past Detroit’s defence. He fanned on the shot, but didn’t lose the puck. Unfortunately, his fanned shot completely drew Coreau out of the net. MacKinnon easily wrapped around the net and buried the puck in empty net.

Towards the end of the game, the Wings were killing a 5-on-3 and their opponents added one more. This time, it was Tyson Barrie who fired home a one-timer from the point. The goal extended Barrie’s point streak to ten games. It was the final goal of this game.

So the Wings lose by four, which means I have to wear an Avalanche jersey for a day. Thanks, boys!

The first period was a little back and forth, but the Wings had better possession for most of the second and third. Their slew of penalties at the end of the game certainly did nothing to help their chances of a comeback. They continue to shoot themselves in the foot during third periods.

Justin Abdelkader is today’s Motor City MVP for scoring the team’s only goal.

This was the final game of the Wings five game road trip. They return back home now for a game on Tuesday against Petr Mrazek and the Philadelphia Flyers. Puck drop is 7:30 P.M. ET and you’ll be able to watch the game on NBCSN.

As always, Brock Seguin will have your pre-game report early Tuesday afternoon.