To say the Avalanche battled through ups and downs this year would be an understatement. Fan expectations were high in the early stages of the season, and the flux was dramatic. There were times fans thought the Avs couldn’t possibly miss the playoffs, and times when all hope was gone. I spoke with a friend right around the NHL All-Star Break and recall him saying “at least they’ll have two picks in the lottery this year.”

What a ride it’s been.

The Avs looked commanding in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, beating the Calgary Flames 4-1. Their offense was intense and goalie Philipp Grubauer was stifling. In a Playoffs that saw three division winners eliminated in the first round, fans looked at the Avs with a “why not us?” mentality.

Then came the Sharks.

The San Jose Sharks should have been tired. They’re an older team (center Joe Thornton is 39) and they were coming off a thrilling game 7 comeback win. The Sharks beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights with a stunning 4-point rally in the closing minutes. The Knights scored once more to force overtime, but the Sharks ultimately walked away with the win.

The Sharks brought their full intensity on the Avs in game 1, crushing them 5-2. The Avalanche answered back at every turn as the teams alternated wins… until there were no more chances.

Many articles you read today will probably harp on how the Avalanche overachieved this year, how their core is still young and exciting, and how there’s little reason to panic. They’ll talk about how we, as fans, should be excited for the future and glad for the good times this season has brought us.

But this isn’t most news outlets, this is PISS.

The Avalanche had their 2nd goal of the night stripped away thanks to a questionable offside call in the second period. Nathan MacKinnon came screaming into the zone and dished up a perfect assist to Colin Wilson that should have tied the game at 2. San Jose spotted Gabriel Landeskog leaving the ice immediately before MacKinnon crossed the blue line. According to NHL rules, offensive players must leave the opponent’s zone before the puck enters. Landeskog’s skate was just barely still on the ice as he was stepping onto the bench, but whether or not it was offside seems iffy to me. The rule states that players must be on or behind the blue line, and to my eyes it looked like Landeskog’s skate was right on the line.

This isn’t the first time the Sharks have won a game 7 due (at least in part) to a questionable call from the officiating crew. In round 1 the Sharks went on a 5-minute power play when Cody Eakin was given a major penalty for cross checking Sharks captain Joe Pavelsky. It was during this 5-minute power play that the Sharks rattled off 4 goals. However, upon closer inspection it was clear that Pavelsky had lost his balance after being pushed by Eakin during the faceoff. In fact, it was so clear that it shouldn’t have been a penalty that the NHL issued an apology to Las Vegas and banned that officiating team from calling any games in round 2.

So yes, there’s reason to be excited about the future of the Avalanche, but there’s reason to be angry too. The Avs had a roller coaster of a season, and in time I’ll be able to look back on it fondly because it’s gotten me interested in hockey again. But right now, today, I’m angry. I wanted the Avalanche and Denver Nuggets to share the Pepsi Center in the Western Conference Finals of their respective sports, and I feel cheated out of that.

That’s what being a fan is about, right?