GDT: Avalanche vs Blue Jackets @5:00PM MST 04/01/24 (Emergency GDT) I swear this isn't a joke thread. 😉

[Foppa2118]

I like Bednar, but sometimes he says some head scratching things. Like that he won’t kill his guys to win the division, after a game against an Eastern opponent, where he overplayed the hell out of his top guys.

I get that the Colton line hasn’t been great lately, and Girard and Walker didn’t have great games, but if you don’t want to kill your guys, why play them so little, while you play the top guys so much?

Mikko - 28:04
MacK - 26:22
Colton - 13:31
Wood - 12:11

Makar - 25:40
Toews - 23:12
Girard - 17:16
Walker - 16:35

 

[Nihiliste]

Poor execution was the key. They were inept in how they attacked and constantly fumbling the puck or waiting too long to get the pass or shot off.

Disagree, it’s important not to let outcomes obscure judgment of process. They win that game more often than not if you simulate it again.

We do have a real weakness though, which is goaltending. Bag skating the skaters won’t fix that unfortunately.

 

[McJedi]

You have a weird obsession with these below-average to mid-average height offensively gifted defencemen, don't you?


The reason for this is because Avs rested a ton of players, like a ton.

Not really.

I got to see Gulyayev play several times this season and was blown away. He’s so Fing fast. Such a gifted skater and athlete.

And defensively… he’s winning his coaches support and ice time allocation thru playing… well… very defensively.

I

 

[Pokecheque]

Disagree, it’s important not to let outcomes obscure judgment of process. They win that game more often than not if you simulate it again.

We do have a real weakness though, which is goaltending. Bag skating the skaters won’t fix that unfortunately.

I don't think they do. They put a lot of shots on goal but a lot of them were from distance and they did very, very little to create traffic in front of the net and screen him. Yes, Tarasov saw a lot of shots but he really wasn't challenged that much. They did next to nothing to get to rebounds as well. Just a listless, lazy effort against a really bad team. If it had been a different team it likely would've been a blowout loss.

It's true, yes, Annunen let in at least one really soft goal, possibly two depending on your POV (and I do think that first goal was stoppable), but the Avs did very little to generate legit scoring chances, were sloppy AF with their passing and defensive coverage, and just didn't seem checked in at all.

 

[Pokecheque]

I get that people are slagging Bednar for his usage of players but I can see why the top guys continue to get so many minutes.

For one, this team just doesn't seem to want to score first. Secondly, they're clearly wanting Nate to get the Hart, and the Art Ross would be a huge step toward securing it. Third, the third line has been absolute shit since it was put together.

Fourth, this team, despite some good depth additions, is missing their two best two-way players and their best bottom six guy (also a very effective two-way player) by a country mile. Way too many unstructured players just kinda wandering around, which is leading to some poor execution at both ends of the ice.

That's my one lone criticism of Bednar, his insistence on making the 28-20-9 line work, when it clearly isn't, and hasn't at all save for a stretch in the Pens game.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I get that people are slagging Bednar for his usage of players but I can see why the top guys continue to get so many minutes.

For one, this team just doesn't seem to want to score first. Secondly, they're clearly wanting Nate to get the Hart, and the Art Ross would be a huge step toward securing it. Third, the third line has been absolute shit since it was put together.

Fourth, this team, despite some good depth additions, is missing their two best two-way players and their best bottom six guy (also a very effective two-way player) by a country mile. Way too many unstructured players just kinda wandering around, which is leading to some poor execution at both ends of the ice.

That's my one lone criticism of Bednar, his insistence on making the 28-20-9 line work, when it clearly isn't, and hasn't at all save for a stretch in the Pens game.

Bednar's deployment of personnel has always baffled me. I'm just about done questioning it though because looking at his record, I don't think he really needs my advice anymore.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

The top unit played over 7 minutes of PP time, so that skews ice-time a bit. Not as much skating there.

 

[Pokecheque]

Bednar's deployment of personnel has always baffled me. I'm just about done questioning it though because looking at his record, I don't think he really needs my advice anymore.

I mean, it's mostly made sense to me. He had his biases, like sending out JTC as much as he did, but for the most part it seems to fit the personnel he has at the time. The closest he had to really balanced deployment was late season 2022 when he had the deepest and most talented team he's ever had.

One thing that always seems to happen is that Bednar just can't have three fully functioning centers at one given time.

2018-2019 Relied mostly on 2C by committee and rolled with MacKinnon and Soderberg as his top pivots.

2019-2022 For whatever reason the bottom dropped out of Compher's game for nearly two years, and then for one year, Kadri was the guy who struggled (but did come back with a vengeance his final season in Colorado).

2022-2023 Compher back at 2C but that obviously didn't work great. I can't even remember who the 3C was before they went out and got Eller.

2023-2024 Most of the season it was Colton (because it sure as hell wasn't Johansen) but now that Mittelstadt is in the fold, Colton's game has almost completely imploded.

I just don't get why that is.

 

[dahrougem2]

The top unit played over 7 minutes of PP time, so that skews ice-time a bit. Not as much skating there.

Perhaps there should be given how bad the PP looked and how stagnant it has been outside of the Predators game.

Avs PP is so easy to defend when MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen all stand in the same place looking for cross-seam one timer opportunities.

 

[AvBuff]

In an effort to somehow rationalize last night, I took a look at the CBJ's results in 2024. Are they bad? Yes. Do they lose a lot? Yup.

But they've also beaten the following teams in 2024: NYR, NJ, Boston, Toronto(twice), Philly, Vancouver, Vegas and Edmonton. I snuck a peak at their post-game boards and you could cut and paste the reactions directly onto this thread.

Shit happens. I'm moving on . . .

 

[henchman21]

The top unit played over 7 minutes of PP time, so that skews ice-time a bit. Not as much skating there.

Perhaps there should be given how bad the PP looked and how stagnant it has been outside of the Predators game.

Avs PP is so easy to defend when MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen all stand in the same place looking for cross-seam one timer opportunities.

I think they play into each other. Even on a PP... taking a 2+ minute shift is tiring. That happens with fair regularity (even nearly 3 minutes or more is not super unusual). When you're tired, you don't move your feet and don't battle as hard... the tendency becomes to pass around the outside. IMO the Avs could use a bit of a shakeup to the PP units. Split some of the top guys and try to split the time a bit. Give some different looks and encourage players to take different chances/play different roles. IE MIkko as the setup trigger man on a different unit getting fed by Toews, which is an easier one timer to setup. Drouin playing more on the wall in the Mikko spot trying to utilize the bumper better. Even Walker as a the right shot trigger man on the 2nd unit. Just give something different for the players to work and see. When the playoffs start, you can go back to a condensed unit.

 

[dahrougem2]

I think they play into each other. Even on a PP... taking a 2+ minute shift is tiring. That happens with fair regularity (even nearly 3 minutes or more is not super unusual). When you're tired, you don't move your feet and don't battle as hard... the tendency becomes to pass around the outside. IMO the Avs could use a bit of a shakeup to the PP units. Split some of the top guys and try to split the time a bit. Give some different looks and encourage players to take different chances/play different roles. IE MIkko as the setup trigger man on a different unit getting fed by Toews, which is an easier one timer to setup. Drouin playing more on the wall in the Mikko spot trying to utilize the bumper better. Even Walker as a the right shot trigger man on the 2nd unit. Just give something different for the players to work and see. When the playoffs start, you can go back to a condensed unit.

I have never liked how the top unit plays the full 2 minutes. Even with 45 seconds left if the puck gets dumped they don't change (especially Rantanen) and look to extend the shift.

If healthy PP1 has 29/96/13/27/8 then PP2 has 37/62/20/7/26 the second unit is nothing to scoff at. Obviously not top unit level but they can get something done if given a legit chance.

 

[Bender]

Perhaps there should be given how bad the PP looked and how stagnant it has been outside of the Predators game.

Avs PP is so easy to defend when MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen all stand in the same place looking for cross-seam one timer opportunities.

I think that PP and the way it's meant to function works a ton better when you have Nuke or Landeskog in front of the net causing chaos or in the bumper position. When we have Drouin (pass/shoot ratio 90/10) and Mitts (pass/shoot ratio 85/15) in that bumper position it's much easier to defend because those guys are pass-first and the entire league knows it.

I'm disappointed with the lack of creativity on the PP...they just work the umbrella until 1 of Mack, Rants or Makar has a lane to get a shot through and the only thing that makes a difference if they score or not is how well they execute it. I also don't like that the 2nd unit barely gets any time at all.

With the talent we have, there is zero reason we aren't at least top-5 in the league on the PP every single year (and I'm being generous with the top-5 here they should probably be top-3 or even top-2) and the reasons we aren't are due to failure to change things up and get creative.

Hey, can I have Ray Bennett's job? I'll just tell the team to keep doing the same thing they've been doing the past 4 years on the PP and I'll do it for half the money...

 

[henchman21]

I have never liked how the top unit plays the full 2 minutes. Even with 45 seconds left if the puck gets dumped they don't change (especially Rantanen) and look to extend the shift.

If healthy PP1 has 29/96/13/27/8 then PP2 has 37/62/20/7/26 the second unit is nothing to scoff at. Obviously not top unit level but they can get something done if given a legit chance.

Rants and MacK are both especially prone long shifts… even at even strength. Would annoy the F out of me as a coach.

 

[Balthazar]

Rants and MacK are both especially prone long shifts… even at even strength. Would annoy the F out of me as a coach.

At least Mack is in phenomenal physical shape.

 

[GeoRox89]

I think that PP and the way it's meant to function works a ton better when you have Nuke or Landeskog in front of the net causing chaos or in the bumper position. When we have Drouin (pass/shoot ratio 90/10) and Mitts (pass/shoot ratio 85/15) in that bumper position it's much easier to defend because those guys are pass-first and the entire league knows it.

I'm disappointed with the lack of creativity on the PP...they just work the umbrella until 1 of Mack, Rants or Makar has a lane to get a shot through and the only thing that makes a difference if they score or not is how well they execute it. I also don't like that the 2nd unit barely gets any time at all.

With the talent we have, there is zero reason we aren't at least top-5 in the league on the PP every single year (and I'm being generous with the top-5 here they should probably be top-3 or even top-2) and the reasons we aren't are due to failure to change things up and get creative.

Hey, can I have Ray Bennett's job? I'll just tell the team to keep doing the same thing they've been doing the past 4 years on the PP and I'll do it for half the money...

For all the whingeing out of Oilers fans about the Referado Refalanche you’d think we’d scored a lot more than 4 more PP goals than them this year. 2021-2022 is the only one of the 6 years where we actually lead in PP goals (we’re 2nd this season to date and the other finishes are 2, 4, 6 and 9). We’re 3rd over the whole span but hilariously those very hard done by Oilers are 1st

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

Disagree, it’s important not to let outcomes obscure judgment of process. They win that game more often than not if you simulate it again.

We do have a real weakness though, which is goaltending. Bag skating the skaters won’t fix that unfortunately.

I didn't advocate any bag skate nonsense.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

During the cup run Avs had a healthy Nuke and Landy. We should have at least Nuke and maybe Landy too which will make a world of difference

You'll have to convince me that after almost 2 years off the ice, Landeskog will have the built in fortitude and stamina to play more than a couple of good games in the playoffs. He'll be running mostly on adrenaline and then, the 2 month marathon will overwhelm him.

He hasn't even taken an NHL level hit yet.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

I get that people are slagging Bednar for his usage of players but I can see why the top guys continue to get so many minutes.

For one, this team just doesn't seem to want to score first. Secondly, they're clearly wanting Nate to get the Hart, and the Art Ross would be a huge step toward securing it. Third, the third line has been absolute shit since it was put together.

Fourth, this team, despite some good depth additions, is missing their two best two-way players and their best bottom six guy (also a very effective two-way player) by a country mile. Way too many unstructured players just kinda wandering around, which is leading to some poor execution at both ends of the ice.

That's my one lone criticism of Bednar, his insistence on making the 28-20-9 line work, when it clearly isn't, and hasn't at all save for a stretch in the Pens game.

#9 has seen the elephant. 39 yr old legs rarely have it what it takes to skate with the League's elite.

 

[the_fan]

You'll have to convince me that after almost 2 years off the ice, Landeskog will have the built in fortitude and stamina to play more than a couple of good games in the playoffs. He'll be running mostly on adrenaline and then, the 2 month marathon will overwhelm him.

He hasn't even taken an NHL level hit yet.

If Avs can stay healthy during the entire run including having Val without missing more time, they can go deep without Landy. Having Landy will just be a bonus whatever he can provide

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

If Avs can stay healthy during the entire run including having Val without missing more time, they can go deep without Landy. Having Landy will just be a bonus whatever he can provide

Won't matter if his MD's won't sign off on his recuperation.

Back in '74-75, Lee Fogolin as a rookie, sat on the bench and didn't take a single shift all season. "Seasoning" was the explanation.

He split time in the minors the next season.

You put Landy in the line up during the 2nd, 3rd of 4th round, he has to be ready to play. It's not about some undefined "intangibles".

 

[the_fan]

Won't matter if his MD's won't sign off on his recuperation.

Back in '74-75, Lee Fogolin as a rookie, sat on the bench and didn't take a single shift all season. "Seasoning" was the explanation.

He split time in the minors the next season.

You put Landy in the line up during the 2nd, 3rd of 4th round, he has to be ready to play. It's not about some undefined "intangibles".

I mean if he’s not ready to play, they won’t put him in the lineup. I would think they’d know he can play or not before putting him in there. Landy himself won’t want to play and hurt the team if he’s not ready

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I mean if he’s not ready to play, they won’t put him in the lineup. I would think they’d know he can play or not before putting him in there. Landy himself won’t want to play and hurt the team if he’s not ready

Yeah, Landy's not going to hurt the team by coming back. He's got too much integrity and to be honest too much on the line personally to cheat this timeline, even if it's absolutely killing him mentally to be sidelined.

 

[wayninja]

You'll have to convince me that after almost 2 years off the ice, Landeskog will have the built in fortitude and stamina to play more than a couple of good games in the playoffs. He'll be running mostly on adrenaline and then, the 2 month marathon will overwhelm him.

He hasn't even taken an NHL level hit yet.

That's why you bunk him with Val. He'll be taking NHL level hits in no time.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

That's why you bunk him with Val. He'll be taking NHL level hits in no time.

Yeah, Landy's not going to hurt the team by coming back. He's got too much integrity and to be honest too much on the line personally to cheat this timeline, even if it's absolutely killing him mentally to be sidelined.

Got no problem with Landy's integrity. Not the team's or MD's on this issue.

I'm just tired of reading so many unrealistic fan posts about it.

Just leave it be......