This entire preseason, people have been concerned about the Colorado Avalanche and their lack of scoring. Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk...all three have been held off the scorecard in four games as Colorado fell to a 1-3 record in preseason.
Most hockey analysts suggested it's still just preseason.
Semyon Varlamov, the goalie who Colorado traded two drafts picks next season, has had a very uneven preseason by most accounts.
It's still preseason.
In their last preseason game of the season, a rematch in Las Vegas against the Los Angeles Kings, all of that concern proved for naught as the Avalanche dominated the entire game with a great power play and effective defense. These very Kings had shut out Colorado earlier in the week by a 6-0 blowout, leading some of the Pepsi Center faithful to boo their concern. In Las Vegas, Colorado scored four goals in the first two periods on their way to a 4-1 victory.
The Avalanche were led by their stars, as Duchene scored two goals in the game. Paul Stastny and David Jones also scored a goal apiece in the rout. Colorado outshot the Kings by a dominant 31-14 margin, as the defense played a physical game in front of Varlamov, who stopped 13 of 14 shots faced.
For those Avalanche fans who were concerned about the lack of production from their stars, this game showed there was nothing to worry for the season.
Then again, it's still just preseason.