from Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post,

The Avs won’t hoist the Stanley Cup in June if they wave the white flag at the trade deadline in March.

There is too much fight in this team for general manager Chris MacFarland not to make a major move that gives Colorado more than a puncher’s chance to retain its title as NHL champ. While many of the big-name trade targets have been removed from the market, would Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz or Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes make sense in an Avalanche sweater?

With the mystery of captain Gabe Landeskog’s knee injury entering its 20th week and New Jersey telling Colorado to fuhgetabout its six-game winning streak, you must be looking at these Avs through burgundy-and-blue tinted glasses to believe they have what it takes to have a truly legit shot at winning back-to-back championships.

Colorado died hard Wednesday during a 7-5 loss to the Devils, falling behind by four goals early in the second period before mounting a comeback that blew the roof off Ball Arena but fell just short on the scoreboard.

Maybe write off this loss to a very dangerous team, as 22-year-old Justus Annunen made only his third NHL start between the pipes for the Avalanche and had a devil of a time stopping New Jersey from lighting the lamp. After falling behind 5-1 to a Jersey team demonstrating what Colorado coach Jared Bednar called a “pack mentality,” the Avs came roaring back because center Nathan MacKinnon refused to let his teammates fold.

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