Avs captain Landeskog rips refs as Stanley Cup favorites are in a slump

The Colorado Avalanche are in a slump.

It’s their first one since starting the season 4-5-1 with no other speed bumps until now.

Colorado lost to Carolina 2-0 on Thursday night and is now just 1-3-1 in its last five games. The overall record is still dazzling at 41-13-5, with 87 points to boot, but the last week has been concerning.

From losing to the horrendous Coyotes, to almost blowing a 5-1 lead against the Islanders and actually blowing a 3-0 lead to the Devils, there have been problems. Throw in the fact No. 1 goalie Darcy Kuemper received an early hook from Jared Bednar in a 4-3 overtime loss to Calgary during the stretch as well, and it’s not all perfect in Avalanche land.

And while the “panic meter” for fans should still be relatively low, after the loss to the Hurricanes captain Gabriel Landeskog went off on the referees.

“In 11 years, I’ve never sat and talked about referees in a press conference, ever,” Landeskog said after the shutout loss.

His biggest issue was the treatment of Avalanche star Nazem Kadri, who has a lengthy history of suspensions, including a monster one in last year’s playoffs. Landeskog seems worried Kadri’s reputation is preceding him.

Kadri took a penalty in the third period of a 0-0 game that Landeskog immediately argued, saying the Hurricanes player embellished the call. The Avs eventually killed off that penalty, but right before Carolina scored the game’s first goal, Kadri appeared to be interfered with and there was no call. The Hurricanes scored what proved to be the game winning goal moments later.

“I think Wes (McCauley) and TJ (Luxmore) do a great job for 50-some minutes of the game. They called a high stick on Naz on Niederreiter, which might have been a high stick but Niederreiter falls easy. We’re arguing it’s a flop. They still say it’s a high stick. Fair enough,” Landeskog said.

But then the captain said what we’re all thinking out loud.

“Whether a guy has been suspended numerous times or not, is he going to be carrying around that heavy baggage forever? I’m not saying TJ and Wes didn’t call it for that reason, but Naz is a guy who is competitive. Whether he sold that call or not, you can look in that video and the stick in his waist and that’s why he loses the puck,” Landeskog continued. “I think it’s unfortunate. Sometimes it’s time for players to step up and speak their truth. I’m the one looking like an idiot for getting thrown out of the game even though I’m just being honest.”

Landeskog and the Avs gave up an empty net goal with under a minute to go and the captain let the refs have it from the bench. He received a 10-minute game misconduct and left the ice.

Colorado’s second round playoff failures the last three years have been well documented. The Stanley Cup favorites each of the last two seasons, the Avs came up short against both Dallas and Vegas. That can’t happen again this year or head coach Jared Bednar could be at risk of losing his job. The outstanding young core could also be broken up by GM Joe Sakic — a guy who knows a thing or two about winning a title.

Landeskog’s rant on Thursday night shows he and the team are still engaged. But saying it into a microphone can only happen every once in awhile for the message to be effective. The Stanley Cup favorites need to get back on track, and fast.

A potential Western Conference Finals preview will take place on Sunday night at Ball Arena with Calgary coming to town again. It’d be a nice time for the Avs to reaffirm they’re the best team in the NHL.

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