from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,

Opening its 25th-anniversary season at home with a new uniform ensemble didn’t go well for the Avalanche on Wednesday.

Those Stanley Cup expectations might have gone to Colorado’s collective heads.

“We just got outworked,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said.

The St. Louis Blues, those proud 2019 Stanley Cup champions, dominated the first period and scored twice in the third to skate away with a relatively easy 4-1 victory at Ball Arena.

“We just didn’t have enough guys compete tonight,” Bednar said. “Right from the start, not ready to go. Lazy habits, hoping it was going to be easier than what it was. It showed.”

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Game highlights are below.