The Colorado Avalanche may have reached the Murphy’s Law portion of the 2024-2025 season and is only four games old.

Another injury. A failed comeback attempt was thwarted when the reigning MVP lost the puck at center ice. Pieces of improved play, but also moments where they were outclassed.

The end result was a 5-3 loss Wednesday night to the Boston Bruins at Ball Arena, and the first 0-4 start to the season since 1998-99. The small Avalanche looked overmatched in the first half of the game, but looked much more like themselves in the final 30 minutes. In the end it was too little too late.

“I think there was some desperation, and that was good,” Avs defenseman Josh Manson said. “I think we all wanted to see some desperation.”

Colorado started this game without five key players and lost Miles Wood in the third period on a hard blindside hit. The Avs also lingered in their own zone for far too long in the first 30 minutes, helping the Bruins gain a three-goal lead.

There were some positives. Alexandar Georgiev had an excellent performance in the second period to keep this from being a loss and may be getting closer to the goaltender who won a lot of games with the Avs over the past two seasons. And the power play scored three times to give the Avalanche a fighting chance on a night where even-strength offense was hard to come by.

“Better for sure,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of his goaltender. “I made some big saves. Moving in the right direction. Last game, then this game – just keep going.”

The Bruins struck first at 13:46 of the first period. Andrew Peeke blasted the puck from the right wall into the net and Cole Koepke tapped it under the crossbar.

One of the Avs’ strengths this season has been the power play. Ross Colton tied the game 81 seconds later on a give-and-go with Mikko Rantanen.

On the other hand, the penalty kill has struggled. The Bruins took advantage with a pair of tap-in one-timers.

Charlie Coyle made it a 2-1 game at 17:09 of the first, falling behind the Avs on a rare power play rush goal. David Pastrnak added another at 9:09 of the second to make it 3-1. Hampus Lindholm had the puck near the left wall and hit Pastrnak cutting toward the front of the net.

“I didn’t like it tonight,” Bednar said. “We got beat a few times on plays where I felt like we could have been better with our sticks, and there was better awareness coming to the (net).

“I think some of that is staff and guys just figuring it out. We have to keep working on it.”

Boston had been dominant in the period up to that point, but Georgiev had made some great saves. The Bruins broke it open on the next shift.

Lindholm shot the puck from a similar spot on the ice, and it hit an Avs player in front. It came 13 seconds after Pastrnak’s count.

Matthew Steinberg made his NHL debut for the Avs and impressed as his team faltered. Steinberg hit a big hit and then fought former Colorado defenseman Nikita Zadorov. The Avs got a power play because of a Zadorov hit, and Cale Makar made it a 4-2 game at 11:15 of the second.

Another former Avalanche player, Riley Tufte, took another ill-advised penalty early in the third period, cross-checking Rantanen. He made the Bruins pay for it at 4:52 of the third with his fourth goal of the season to pull Colorado within a goal.