It was one of those nights at Ball Arena, but if the Avalanche aren’t careful, more nights like this could lead to them blowing their once-massive Central Division lead.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, in the middle of a long five-game road trip that will end in a few days in Carolina, embarrassed the Avalanche at Ball Arena, beating them 7-2 in one of Colorado’s worst performances of the season. Both Avalanche netminders played in this one, but neither looked particularly good, with Scott Wedgewood getting pulled just seven minutes into the game after giving up three goals on five shots.

While the Avalanche really could have used a save from Wedgewood early, he didn’t exactly get much help. Pittsburgh’s second goal came on a breakaway when Anthony Mantha sneaked behind Cale Makar, and its third goal came on a brutal defensive breakdown, with Malkin being left all alone in the slot.

“That start is not on (Wedgewood) at all. Like, what’s he going to do?” Jared Bednar said after the game. “Some of the chances that we’re giving up are guys all alone at the net front, kind of the same as Edmonton. We fixed it for Winnipeg and then it’s back again tonight.”

For as poor defensively as the Avalanche were in the first, they still managed to generate 17 shots on goal. Down going into the second period, you’d think they would have pushed a bit more offensively.

That did not happen, as they only tested Arturs Silovs 10 more times over the final 40 minutes.

“It’s easy to skate with the puck and try to make a play on entry, and if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. That’s not a winning formula,” Bednar said. “Lots of guys passing up on shots, trying to pass it all the way into the net. Lot of guys unwilling to play to the goal line and go win a battle in order to play out (offensive) zone play. It’s a little bit of everything.”

With some wingers missing, the Avalanche have chosen to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, leading to some interesting combinations. That’s not great for chemistry on the ice, which could be leading to some struggles with some new faces in the lineup.

“We’ve just been making so many mistakes,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “We got a lot of new guys and a lot of old guys out, so it’s tough. Seven (defensemen), I don’t love seven (defensemen). I think different pairs every shift isn’t great. Different forward times a lot of the time with 11, so the flow is off for sure.”

Reinforcements aren’t on the way anytime soon. Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen skated for the first time Monday morning, but neither is expected back for at least a week, while Ross Colton has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury.

Most of the group that played Monday will be in the lineup Wednesday for a crucial four-point swing game with the Dallas Stars.

Penguins 7, Avalanche 2

What happened: The Avalanche put up arguably their worst performance of the season.

What went right: Erik Johnson was between the benches for this broadcast on ESPN. That at least added some solid entertainment to what was a painful watch for Avalanche fans.

What went wrong: Every time it seems like the power play is trending up, it puts up a real stinker. The Avalanche had plenty of opportunities to turn the momentum of this game, but their power play let them down again. Evgeni Malkin took a penalty less than a minute into the game, and Colorado didn’t even get a dangerous look at the net. Malkin came out of the box and scored, which was a sign of things to come the rest of the evening.

Avalanche goal scorers: MacKinnon (45), Burns (10)

Penguins goal scorers: Malkin (14, 15), Mantha (26), Soderblom (3), Karlsson (7), Rust (25), Acciari (9)

Between the pipes: Scott Wedgewood finished with just two saves on five shots, while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped just 12 of the 16 shots he faced.

What’s next: Big one on Wednesday, as the Dallas Stars come to town for a huge Central Division matchup at 7:30 p.m.