GDT: 2022 Playoffs: WCQF Game 4 | WC2: Predators vs C1: Colorado Avalanche | 5.9.22 | 8:30p

[NoNecksCurse]

Makar is incredible, but I do not agree with. You can argue he is better- but not close?? No way

I know it’s not a popular opinion on this board but I do believe that after watching this series. Maybe Josi ran out of gas from having to carry the team for such a long stretch but that’s what i believe at this moment.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Ignore button getting a workout tonight.

 

[Sea Eagles]

Good series guys. I know it's tough right now, but don't feel too flat. You guys are tough as nails, gritty, you never give up, and remember, you're very young, your team will continue to improve year-on-year.

Y'all had me sweating bullets. Duchene was great. Josi is a beast. You had some real standouts this season guys.

Connor Ingram was so bloody frustrating. What a goalie prospect !

Hope y'all have a great off season. Next season you will be back bigger, better and stronger !!

 

[drwpreds]

I know it’s not a popular opinion on this board but I do believe that after watching this series. Maybe Josi ran out of gas from having to carry the team for such a long stretch but that’s what i believe at this moment.

I don't doubt that at all- and you can't blame him at all if that was the case. Once upon a time in better days we had 4 near stud dmen out there. Not so much now- lol

 

[NoNecksCurse]

I don't doubt that at all- and you can't blame him at all if that was the case. Once upon a time in better days we had 4 near stud dmen out there. Not so much now- lol

Ekholm had a good assist tonight but man did him and carrier disappoint this series? No kidding. Our defense is no longer a strength. Us fans got our wish from all those years back.

 

[drwpreds]

Good series guys. I know it's tough right now, but don't feel too flat. You guys are tough as nails, gritty, you never give up, and remember, you're very young, your team will continue to improve year-on-year.

Y'all had me sweating bullets. Duchene was great. Josi is a beast. You had some real standouts this season guys.

Connor Ingram was so bloody frustrating. What a goalie prospect !

Hope y'all have a great off season. Next season you will be back bigger, better and stronger !!

No offense man, but if we had you sweating bullets in this series you need some serious therapy. You will never make it through rest of playoffs

Ekholm had a good assist tonight but man did him and carrier disappoint this series? No kidding. Our defense is no longer a strength. Us fans got our wish from all those years back.

Ekholm is still good, but after that?? Yikes. I miss the days of Josi/Eckholm/Subban/Ellis (when Subban and Ellis were still good)

 

[NoNecksCurse]

No offense man, but if we had you sweating bullets in this series you need some serious therapy. You will never make it through rest of playoffs


Ekholm is still good, but after that?? Yikes. I miss the days of Josi/Eckholm/Subban/Ellis (when Subban and Ellis were still good)

No offense man, but if we had you sweating bullets in this series you need some serious therapy. You will never make it through rest of playoffs


Ekholm is still good, but after that?? Yikes. I miss the days of Josi/Eckholm/Subban/Ellis (when Subban and Ellis were still good)

Next thing you know, we will be wanting NoNeck back… oh wait…

 

[Osprey]

Yep it definitely is. But they just got lucky- plenty of teams go through those seasons and never have this kind of results happen

Indeed, but how many teams become contenders who don't go through one or more seasons like that? In the last decade, no team has won the Cup without a player that they drafted in the top 5.

 

[Armourboy]

Indeed, but how many teams become contenders who don't go through one or more seasons like that? In the last decade, no team has won the Cup without a player that they drafted in the top 5.

Well then we just won't win one then. These owners are not going to tank just to get a top draft pick.

 

[Avs2022]

It's worth pointing out that the Avs put up a 48-point season the year that they drafted Makar. That couldn't have been a fun season at all for the fans, but they'd probably say now that it was worth it.

And the Avs lost the drat lottery, and slipped to 4th pick overall. 3 teams passed on Makar.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I'm going to have to root for the f***ing Blues or Mild in the next round? God help me...

Why would you stoop to that? I was rooting for you guys when you beat us that one year. Always been a huge Rinne fan and waaaay before that was a huge Cliff Ronning fan. You dont want to cheer for the Wild or the Blues. Jesus wont forgive that.

 

[The Kingslayer]

It's worth pointing out that the Avs put up a 48-point season the year that they drafted Makar. That couldn't have been a fun season at all for the fans, but they'd probably say now that it was worth it.

It wasnt fun and to boot we even lost the damn #1 overall but everything happens for a reason I guess. Had the Avs won the lottery they would have taken Nolan Patrick probably. The were almost "forced" to take Cale Makar.

 

[Scoresberg]

Complete waste of 8 days.

Kudos to Avs. Much better in every game of the series.

Wouldn't mind them winning the Cup. Beautiful team.

 

[drwpreds]

Complete waste of 8 days.

Kudos to Avs. Much better in every game of the series.

Wouldn't mind them winning the Cup. Beautiful team.

Suter was right.........LOL

 

[Kat Predator]

I've said this in multiple threads debating the Josi/Makar situation...if you look at the quality of players AROUND Makar...defensively Toews bails him out a lot on the back-end. Josi doesn't have that with Fabbro/Carrier. As you've seen during the series..they are constantly in the offensive Zone and most Defensive zone time is brief because they're dominant with their speed and skill as a team. The times he's actually in the d-zone are few and far between and when he is. It's usually not a long shift. He's got highly skilled forwards from line 1-3 that help them out of the zone. I equate many stats he and their D-core have shown to our 2018 d-core defensive stats. We were just so dominant at chipping the puck out of the zone and forcing people to deal with our forecheck during that year that our defenders despite all the ice time had amazing metrics. A stacked team/defensive group can do that very easily.

Once again, I think he deserves the Norris, he's definitely top 1-3 in the league as a defender but MVP? No, not there yet for me.

From the totally outmatched series we just watched...

Makar is a already a great player who elevates the other players on the ice with him. His skating is off the charts. His hockey IQ is off the charts. He's creative and lethal in the offensive zone. His shot is a laser beam that cuts through traffic. He plays in all situations and equally good on defense.

On the other hand, it helps that he has other good players on his team. MacKinnon is a great player who is all over the ice and a demon on the backcheck. They are a well coached team that hustles in all zones, traps like a bear, gobbles up time and space, and cuts passing lanes like their hair is on fire. As a unit, their play is so tight and structured, their goalie can be below average as he rarely has anything close to a high danger play unfold in front of him.

One interesting side note is that some Avs who played well and put up good numbers last season switched teams this year and, well, they fell off a cliff. Grubauer, for example, was really quite bad. I think he was the worst goalie in the NHL against breakaways by a wide margin for at least part of the season...

Josi is also a great player, but our coaches decided that he's too valuable on offense to play in all situations, leaving the PK entirely on Ekholm and whoever slotted in on the 3rd pairing. (That disrupts balance, like when we had 4 d-men who could play in all situations. With our penchant for taking penalties, the scheme takes Josi out of the flow of the game.) Our team doesn't work as a unit any longer. We played right into their trap game and generated no offense at all for long stretches of games. We couldn't find passing lanes and passed the puck too far ahead when we did. Our defensive structure was even worse at times. Our goaltender had basically no experience at this level and was a mixed bag of great saves and liabilities while getting peppered with shots. We played slower and from behind almost the entire 4 games.

I don't know where that leaves it. They are both incredible players to watch and any NHL team would be lucky to have them.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Yeah, I'm frustrated with Makar right now because he just torched us. But there's no denying he is an absolutely elite player who would be elite and Norris/Hart caliber in any situation.

The thing that really turned me on to him was last season hearing some interviews and watching him break down film. The guy is incredibly intelligent and thinks the game on another level, not just in terms of his own game, but how it relates to everyone else on the ice and his different opponents. He plays the right way and he's a good guy off the ice. Colorado is lucky to have that player.

 

[LCPreds]

I guess one thing to keep in mind with Colorado is this:

2009: 3rd pick
2010: 17th pick
2011: 2nd pick --- (how does one go from picking 3rd to 17th to 2nd? I need to look into this)
2012: Did not have a 1st
2013: 1st pick
2014: 23rd pick
2015: 10th pick (again, why 1st then 23rd then back to suck again?)
2016: 10th pick
2017: 4th pick
2018 to now start to look better

I guess the question is, could we even deal with this as a market and/or fan base? That's almost 10 years of torture and I didn't even look at the run up to the 2009 pick.

 

[weeze]

Yeah, I'm frustrated with Makar right now because he just torched us. But there's no denying he is an absolutely elite player who would be elite and Norris/Hart caliber in any situation.

The thing that really turned me on to him was last season hearing some interviews and watching him break down film. The guy is incredibly intelligent and thinks the game on another level, not just in terms of his own game, but how it relates to everyone else on the ice and his different opponents. He plays the right way and he's a good guy off the ice. Colorado is lucky to have that player.

And it is not just Maker and Mac but their overall team speed was way more than the Preds. Looked like the Avs almost played a man on man D at times and that really disrupted everything the Preds wanted to do offensively compared to the zone type D the Preds played and the Avs moved so fast and found the open holes for way more SOG and chances. Also the Preds punishing style of play never really materialized as the Avs were almost always moving so not to get hit most of the time or they were hitting the Preds just as much. The Preds offensive strong point never was a factor and the D never could really get the stop or clear they needed because of the Avs speed and skill.

 

[drwpreds]

I guess one thing to keep in mind with Colorado is this:

2009: 3rd pick
2010: 17th pick
2011: 2nd pick --- (how does one go from picking 3rd to 17th to 2nd? I need to look into this)
2012: Did not have a 1st
2013: 1st pick
2014: 23rd pick
2015: 10th pick (again, why 1st then 23rd then back to suck again?)
2016: 10th pick
2017: 4th pick
2018 to now start to look better

I guess the question is, could we even deal with this as a market and/or fan base? That's almost 10 years of torture and I didn't even look at the run up to the 2009 pick.

We will see what happens with the Avs this year. But this is not their first year to be a true contender, and so far all they have to show for this roster is 2nd round exits. And the Preds get absolutely killed for not getting past 2nd round in the President's Trophy season. I keep saying this, but it is HARD to win in playoffs

 

[101st_fan]

I guess one thing to keep in mind with Colorado is this:

2009: 3rd pick
2010: 17th pick
2011: 2nd pick --- (how does one go from picking 3rd to 17th to 2nd? I need to look into this)
2012: Did not have a 1st
2013: 1st pick
2014: 23rd pick
2015: 10th pick (again, why 1st then 23rd then back to suck again?)
2016: 10th pick
2017: 4th pick
2018 to now start to look better

I guess the question is, could we even deal with this as a market and/or fan base? That's almost 10 years of torture and I didn't even look at the run up to the 2009 pick.

2008-09 Joe Sakic plays 15 games, 2g ... retires ... Avs end up sucking.
2009-10 Sacco behind the bench, career season from then 2nd year Chris Steward, Rookie Duchene ..... 1st round exit
2010-11 Bubble popped

 

[weeze]

I guess one thing to keep in mind with Colorado is this:

2009: 3rd pick
2010: 17th pick
2011: 2nd pick --- (how does one go from picking 3rd to 17th to 2nd? I need to look into this)
2012: Did not have a 1st
2013: 1st pick
2014: 23rd pick
2015: 10th pick (again, why 1st then 23rd then back to suck again?)
2016: 10th pick
2017: 4th pick
2018 to now start to look better

I guess the question is, could we even deal with this as a market and/or fan base? That's almost 10 years of torture and I didn't even look at the run up to the 2009 pick.

So who they picked:
2009 - Matt Duchene 3rd, Ryan O'Reilly 33'rd, Tyson Barrie 64th
2010 - Joey Hishon 17, C Pickard 49
2011 - Gabriel Landeskog 2nd,
2013 - Nathan MacKinnon 1st, Will Butcher 123
2014 - Conner Bleackley 23
2015 - Mikko Rantanen
2016 - Tyson Jost
2017 - Cale Maker

Their early draft picks have been $$$ except for 2.

Preds picked:
2009 - Ryan Ellis 11th, Craig Smith 98th, Mattias Ekholm 102, G Bourque 132
2010 - Austin Watson 18, A Bitetto 168
2011 - M Salomaki 52
2012 - P Aberg 37, C Sissons 50, J Vessey 66, B Leipsic 89
2013 - Seth Jones 4th, J Saros 99
2014 - Kevin Fiala 11, V Arvidsson 112
2015 - Y Trenin 55, A Carrier 115
2016 - D Fabbro 17, S Girard 47, R Pitlick 76
2017 - E Tolvanen 30

Quite the difference in skill level in those picks that are still with the teams that drafted them.

 

[101st_fan]

So who they picked:
2009 - Matt Duchene 3rd, Ryan O'Reilly 33'rd, Tyson Barrie 64th
2010 - Joey Hishon 17, C Pickard 49
2011 - Gabriel Landeskog 2nd,
2013 - Nathan MacKinnon 1st, Will Butcher 123
2014 - Conner Bleackley 23
2015 - Mikko Rantanen
2016 - Tyson Jost
2017 - Cale Maker

Their early draft picks have been $$$ except for 2.

Preds picked:
2009 - Ryan Ellis 11th, Craig Smith 98th, Mattias Ekholm 102, G Bourque 132
2010 - Austin Watson 18, A Bitetto 168
2011 - M Salomaki 52
2012 - P Aberg 37, C Sissons 50, J Vessey 66, B Leipsic 89
2013 - Seth Jones 4th, J Saros 99
2014 - Kevin Fiala 11, V Arvidsson 112
2015 - Y Trenin 55, A Carrier 115
2016 - D Fabbro 17, S Girard 47, R Pitlick 76
2017 - E Tolvanen 30

Quite the difference in skill level in those picks that are still with the teams that drafted them.

The Avs had more top 4 picks in that eight year span than the Preds have in franchise history. Since 2010-11, the Avs have four full seasons at 82 points or below.

Among the picks they traded away were 1st rounders that turned into Sbisa and Vasilevskiy,