from Mike Chsmbers of the Denver Post,

Game 2 was a dud for the Avalanche on Thursday at Ball Arena.

St. Louis was superior.

“We were bad,” Avs superstar center Nathan MacKinnon said. “We were really bad tonight.”

The Blues easily out-executed the Avalanche in a 4-1 victory to tie the Western Conference semifinal series at a game apiece. MacKinnon and the rest of the top-six forwards combined for just 14 shots and a minus-7 rating. And Colorado blocked just five shots, compared to 17 for the Blues.

It was the Avs’ first loss of the postseason and ended a streak of eight consecutive postseason victories over St. Louis.

“Our biggest issue was nobody wanted to skate with the puck,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “They did a nice job in the neutral zone, but we didn’t move. … Our execution was poor and that’s because we weren’t skating well.”

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Below, find the game highlights.