Post-Game Talk: AVS vs STARS - 7PM MST, Duke almost had it at the end

[The Kingslayer]

Bring up Elliott he seriously cant be worse then any of the cement heads we have on d

 

[Nihiliste]

Anyways hopefully we get Wilson and Jones back soon. I'm going to assume that Landeskog and O'reilly won't be playing any games this season.

 

[Pokecheque]

Bring up Elliott he seriously cant be worse then any of the cement heads we have on d

From what I'm reading in the Monsters thread, I think he's hurt.

Yeah, the hockey gods hate us.

 

[Nihiliste]

Yup Elliott is mysteriously hurt it seems. I haven't read anywhere exactly what it is or what the timetable is though.

 

[Nalens Oga]

They'll dress Barrie the next game then he'll make a few bad plays because he needs confidence to adjust and before giving him a bunch of games in a row, they'll scratch him.

Yandle would work well on a team with a defensively competent system. On our team, he'd get exposed for the flaws in his defensive ability though he'd still be better than what we have now.

 

[Avs_19]

****. Why is O'Brien on this team??

He didn't play too badly tonight. O'Byrne has been our worst player this season, by far.

 

[Freudian]

Hejda is starting to play better, EJ and Wilson are reliable. The other four spots are filled with players who make too many mistakes no matter who plays. I prefer Barrie. At least he can turn into a good player.

 

[Nihiliste]

I'm concerned with our one dimensional offensive attack teams are going to gameplan us well the way they did in 2010-11. If they sufficiently shut down the Duchene line, Mitchell's unsustainable secondary scoring will dry up and we could be looking at another bottom finish.

 

[ChrisNI]

I'd be happy scratching half our D right now and calling up our prospects, they really can't as bad as what's on offer right now.

Call up Elliott & Gaunce, pair them with an experienced D partner and give them a handful of games to get their head in order.

*edit maybe happy is an overstatement! I'd be happier if we at least giving our guys experience until we get our D straightened out.

 

[Avs71]

Yandle would work well on a team with a defensively competent system. On our team, he'd get exposed for the flaws in his defensive ability though he'd still be better than what we have now.

Honestly, any good-offensively,weak-defensively defenceman would be nice. When you think that the Avs have Hunwick playing 23+ minutes a night, guys like Carle/Liles/Yandle/etc look like gold.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

- I'd drive O'Byrne right to the airport if I could. I've never seen a defenseman whose worse with the puck than him, and if he's not hitting, what is he doing out there? Taking up space. Please don't re-sign him.

- Mitchell is not a winger. Please move him back to center. I know they're stacking the top two lines, but the third line was pretty much useless tonight.

- Sgarbossa has skill. A lot of it. But what can you do playing with VDG and Bordealeau?

- I'd try Hejda and EJ together again. Since his benching, Hejda has played really well.

 

[Nihiliste]

The thing about Hunwick is that yes, he's fast and can move the puck, but it's almost a Cumiskey situation. Despite his speed, he's even more useless offensively than he is defensively.

Rather have a higher IQ guy in Barrie or Elliott getting those PP opportunities and offensive starts even if there's a steep learning curve. That said, I suppose in the real world Sacco can't willingly give up on the season to that extent (speaking of their defensive abilities).

 

[The Kingslayer]

- I'd drive O'Byrne right to the airport if I could. I've never seen a defenseman whose worse with the puck than him, and if he's not hitting, what is he doing out there? Taking up space. Please don't re-sign him.

- Mitchell is not a winger. Please move him back to center. I know they're stacking the top two lines, but the third line was pretty much useless tonight.

- Sgarbossa has skill. A lot of it. But what can you do playing with VDG and Bordealeau?

- I'd try Hejda and EJ together again. Since his benching, Hejda has played really well.

Totally agree on all points. I would move Sgarbossa onto Stastnys left and put Mitchell back at centre on the 3rd line. Also, agree that Hejda has played much better since being benched pairing him with Johnson would give Johnson more freedom in the offensive zone since he doesnt have to cover up for Hunwick. All these things that you explained and that I agree on are coaching decisions. If we had a coach we wouldnt need to point these things out BUT since we havent had a coach since Quennville well all we can do is complain to no avail.

 

[bohlmeister]

- I'd drive O'Byrne right to the airport if I could. I've never seen a defenseman whose worse with the puck than him, and if he's not hitting, what is he doing out there? Taking up space. Please don't re-sign him.

- Mitchell is not a winger. Please move him back to center. I know they're stacking the top two lines, but the third line was pretty much useless tonight.

- Sgarbossa has skill. A lot of it. But what can you do playing with VDG and Bordealeau?

- I'd try Hejda and EJ together again. Since his benching, Hejda has played really well.

I would agree, but that would leave us with 1 good pairing and 2 awful ones. So, I would rather keep them separate.

I have no idea how a NHL staff could go into a season with this group of defenseman. It is baffling.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

I would agree, but that would leave us with 1 good pairing and 2 awful ones.

How is that different than what we've been icing so far this season? lol

 

[bohlmeister]

How is that different than what we've been icing so far this season? lol

We have 2 almost passable pairs and 1 awful one.

 

[Freudian]

Right now, with all the injuries and O'Reilly being emo, this season is one-two straight losses away from being a throwaway year. There is a lot of pressure on the coaches and players.

Hopefully they'll come out with a strong effort on Wednesday against Ducks and then they get four days off. Hopefully our players will heal up a bit and they get some time to work on that PP.

 

[Huis Clos*]

Right now, with all the injuries and O'Reilly being emo, this season is one-two straight losses away from being a throwaway year. There is a lot of pressure on the coaches and players.

Hopefully they'll come out with a strong effort on Wednesday against Ducks and then they get four days off. Hopefully our players will heal up a bit and they get some time to work on that PP.

Always looking at the bright side, Sigmund.

 

[Avs_19]

I didn't know we had the 6-1-1 Ducks coming up next.....

 

[avsfan09]

One thing that really irks me about our defense is the lack of composure with the puck. A player like Hejda or O'byrne get's the puck with time and space and just give the puck away. They need to just get their head's up and make a good pass or clear.

I can't stand just throwing the puck up the boards to the opposing defenceman. That's really all that holds this team back from competing. The inability to make a clean breakout out of our zone.

We get hemmed in and can't create consistent offence. If we had decent puck movers we could get momentum instead of wasting energy chasing opponents around all night. The only time this teams consistently effective is when we have a good fore check and manage to get possession without having to rely on our defense.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I didn't know we had the 6-1-1 Ducks coming up next.....

Winnik with a hatty just you wait and see.

 

[The Kingslayer]

One thing that really irks me about our defense is the lack of composure with the puck. A player like Hejda or O'byrne get's the puck with time and space and just give the puck away. They need to just get their head's up and make a good pass or clear.

I can't stand just throwing the puck up the boards to the opposing defenceman. That's really all that holds this team back from competing. The inability to make a clean breakout out of our zone.

We get hemmed in and can't create consistent offence. If we had decent puck movers we could get momentum instead of wasting energy chasing opponents around all night. The only time this teams consistently effective is when we have a good fore check and manage to get possession without having to rely on our defense.

This has been a problem for years even in the good years we seemed to always be hemmed in for watever reason

 

[S E P H]

Error error error.

Totally agree and when ROB shot that I knew it was going to result into a penalty. He had too much time on his hands and had several options (as you stated).

These are the games that make me mad, because the errors are so stupid and so easy to fix. I do wish we were bit more healthier, because I think Landeskog or Downie would've been able to score at least one goal.

 

[PAZ]

PAP gets injured against the Ducks.

I see it in my totally legit crystal ball I bought from the gypsy for $99. She swore it works, so obviously it does.

 

[Avs_19]

On a positive note, Duchene was once again great on faceoffs. 15-20 tonight after going 16-20 against the Oilers.