3 takeaways from the first preseason loss for the Avalanche

The dream of a completely undefeated season is dead. Oh well, it all starts fresh next week when the real games begin. Colorado fell to the Vegas Golden Knights by a score of 2-1, handing the Avalanche their first loss of the preseason.

Here are three takeaways from Colorado’s second-to-last preseason game Wednesday.

Anyone expecting sweeping changes on the power play is likely to be disappointed. Dave Hakstol, who was hired this summer to replace Ray Bennett as the power play coach, said last week that you’d see “tweaks” as opposed to large changes. Those tweaks are a little difficult to distinguish at the moment, as it looks largely like the same setup they finished last season with for the top unit. There’s no point in getting too up in arms about how a man advantage performs in meaningless games, as the vets aren’t exactly going 100%, but it’s not going to be a radically different setup when MacKinnon and Makar are on the ice. Everything still runs through those two. The second unit will likely have more of a “shoot first” mentality with Brent Burns at the point and Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin in front.When the Avalanche take on the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, it’ll likely be Scott Wedgewood in net as Mackenzie Blackwood makes his way back from injury. Wedgewood was a bright spot for the Avalanche against the Golden Knights, making 30 saves on 32 shots, including a few breakaway stops. He’s more than capable of holding down the fort until Colorado’s No. 1 is healthy.Some Avalanche players have talked about how it’s just normal to see Landeskog on the ice now. That seemed impossible about eight months ago, but he’s back and looks like himself. His goal in the first period, the only goal the Avalanche scored, was a bit of vintage Landeskog. Waits for the screen to develop and beats the goaltender up high. He nearly tied the game up late but it wasn’t meant to be. While it’s normal for the Avalanche players to see Landeskog on the ice, it’s not for the opposition. Late in the third, right before a faceoff, Brett Howden leaned in and said something to Landeskog. It’s a good bet it was something to the effect of “it’s great to see you back.”