Colorado's domination

[John Mandalorian]

Avalanche haven't made it past the 2nd round since 2001. Just like the Capitals with 2nd rounds, putting up decent regular seasons, then flaming out when the games get tough. Then winning the 1 season where there were no expectations of them

By that logic, when was the last time the Leafs won a Stanley Cup compared to the Avs?

 

[DearDiary]

By that logic, when was the last time the Leafs won a Stanley Cup compared to the Avs?

How are the Leafs comparable? No one expects anything out of them besides biased Canadian media.

 

[Avelanche]

Avalanche haven't made it past the 2nd round since 2001. Just like the Capitals with 2nd rounds, putting up decent regular seasons, then flaming out when the games get tough. Then winning the 1 season where there were no expectations of them

you say that like the avs were good the last decade.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Avalanche haven't made it past the 2nd round since 2001. Just like the Capitals with 2nd rounds, putting up decent regular seasons, then flaming out when the games get tough. Then winning the 1 season where there were no expectations of them

I disagree with the Caps, they are/were expected to win the cup every season even if not favorites. They were/are contenders year in and year out. Only legit contenders actually wins championships. The last real surprise who actually won the cup.. maybe LA? And Sutter teams always seem scary in the playoffs.

 

[DearDiary]

I disagree with the Caps, they are/were expected to win the cup every season even if not favorites. They were/are contenders year in and year out. Only legit contenders actually wins championships. The last real surprise who actually won the cup.. maybe LA? And Sutter teams always seem scary in the playoffs.

It's not about cups. Caps won more than 1 playoff round in a season once (cup win) since 1997. After that cup win, they went right back to viewing the 2nd round as a mountain.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Avalanche haven't made it past the 2nd round since 2001. Just like the Capitals with 2nd rounds, putting up decent regular seasons, then flaming out when the games get tough. Then winning the 1 season where there were no expectations of them

Literally two seasons ago every media and almost every fan’s pre-season standings prediction had the Avs missing the playoffs. Last year was the first time this team was expected to make the playoffs in recent memory and they were an OT game 7 defeat with a drastically injured lineup which included playing with their third string goalie.

Let’s not act like this Avs team has been choking in the playoffs for years. You’re right that they haven’t won anything, but it’s not like anybody expected them to win anything until now.

 

[Belgican]

On a scale of 1-5 Colorado fans, how comfortable are you with your:

• Goaltending?
• Scoring?
• Defence?
• Depth?
• Coaching?

...going into the playoffs?

3
3
5
4
4

 

[MacMacandBarbie]

I’m sry but no.

The 2010 and 2013 Hawks teams were RIDICULOUSLY fast from top to bottom. Elite team speed. Especially the 2013 team. That team had Shaw, Frolik, Saad, Kruger, Stalberg, and Bolland making up its bottom 6. Top 6 had Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa. Keith, Oduya, Hjalmarsson, Leddy on defense. Even Seabrook and Bickell were still very strong skaters back then.

Definitely one of the fastest teams to win a Cup in the cap era.

The 2010 team definitely didn't burn teams with their speed. Toews, Kane, Sharp, Byfuglien were all some of the top scorers on that run. They scored through those top lines a lot, and those players have speed, sure, but they use their elite possession abilities. Byfuglien would bulldoze his way to the net and crash it, kane would hold on to the puck with his elusiveness until the very last second, Toews used his body a lot to protect the puck, Sharp would look to get into the open area. Again, not slow players, but in 2016 the pens were legit burning people with their speed, and using their speed to win games and score off the rush a lot.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Someone said the Avs haven't made it past the 2nd round since 2001.

2002 says hi...

 

[Nihiliste]

On a scale of 1-5 Colorado fans, how comfortable are you with your:

• Goaltending?
• Scoring?
• Defence?
• Depth?
• Coaching?

...going into the playoffs?

goaltending - 2. Gru is great when healthy but injury prone and we have no backup.
Scoring - 5. We’ll score goals unless the top guys get hurt
Depth - 1. We have a few glass men on the team, no doubt by the end of round 1 we’d be icing renouf and pateryn on the bottom pairing and dries and megna on the 4th line
Defence - 4 when healthy. Somewhat concerned about teams that can establish a heavy cycle against us but overall the defense has become a strength
Coaching - 3. Bednar is great at bringing along young players and has the team buying into a fun and effective system but he can’t make adjustments. So if a team figures out his scheme over a 7 game series it may take him a couple games to adjust by which time we’ll be in a hole

 

[Puckstop40]

Game 7 demons? They've played two of them, one of them on the road and had a nonsense offside goal erased (nonsense due to the way the rule exists), and the other was played with an injury-crippled team. That's not nearly enough for me to think or suggest the Avs have a bugaboo problem in Game 7's.

As an Avalanche fan, you have to realize we went through the following game 7 heartaches.

98 Oilers
99 Stars
2000 Stars
2002 Red Wings
2003 Wild
2014 Wild
2019 Sharks
2020 Stars.

We are 4-8 in game 7’s. I ultimately feel health will determine how far we go this year. Would be nice to see a Tampa v. Colorado final.

 

[Chips]

The 2010 team definitely didn't burn teams with their speed. Toews, Kane, Sharp, Byfuglien were all some of the top scorers on that run. They scored through those top lines a lot, and those players have speed, sure, but they use their elite possession abilities. Byfuglien would bulldoze his way to the net and crash it, kane would hold on to the puck with his elusiveness until the very last second, Toews used his body a lot to protect the puck, Sharp would look to get into the open area. Again, not slow players, but in 2016 the pens were legit burning people with their speed, and using their speed to win games and score off the rush a lot.

True but I think the Avs aren’t pure possesion or speed like the pens and hawks weren’t

I mean the Avs certainly like to rush and have a number of guys who can do controlled exits/entries, but they’ll pass the puck every which way quickly and play keep away from opponents too. I’d essentially consider that a possession element they just manage to get it on net quickly too, the other team can start chasing them around the zone.

 

[Nihiliste]

True but I think the Avs aren’t pure possesion or speed like the pens and hawks weren’t

I mean the Avs certainly like to rush and have a number of guys who can do controlled exits/entries, but they’ll pass the puck every which way quickly and play keep away from opponents too. I’d essentially consider that a possession element they just manage to get it on net quickly too, the other team can start chasing them around the zone.

Yeah we’re not as much of a rush dependent offense as we used to be. Still attack a lot off the rush but much better than recent years and sustaining ozone pressure

 

[Chips]

As an Avalanche fan, you have to realize we went through the following game 7 heartaches.

98 Oilers
99 Stars
2000 Stars
2002 Red Wings
2003 Wild
2014 Wild
2019 Sharks
2020 Stars.

We are 4-8 in game 7’s. I ultimately feel health will determine how far we go this year. Would be nice to see a Tampa v. Colorado final.

Fair enough but I still don’t understand associating previous cores’ failures with a new one. The one against the Wild is the closest I’d associate and I don’t think that team was anywhere near as good as now. Also, it’s far enough I can’t remember super clearly, but that series season wasn’t MacK still just “promising” more than godly?

and I wouldn’t consider the past two “choking” entirely. They were definitely still up and coming against the Sharks and not as deep as now, and last season two of their best D, key players who are a big part of the roster now, were young as hell (and technically still are, but I’d call them experienced now) minus Toews even existing to them.

I guess my point is, I’ve watched the Caps religiously for decades and I don’t view their failures the same yet, not at all. 99% of playoff teams teams lose each year, a couple years with a core of young and or inexperienced key players is acceptable. Especially with injuries like the previous poster said.

I’d probably bet on the Knights just because they’re overdue for playoff success, but I’m not specifically worried about the Avs supposed inability to win game 7s

 

[Chips]

Yeah we’re not as much of a rush dependent offense as we used to be. Still attack a lot off the rush but much better than recent years and sustaining ozone pressure

I think having the top-3 D that they have (idk if Byram or Timmins are supposed to be the same style too?) makes the rush less predictable anyhow, much easier to pull of “waves” of attack when 1/2 the game you have 5 legit attackers at once

 

[Nihiliste]

I think having the top-3 D that they have (idk if Byram or Timmins are supposed to be the same style too?) makes the rush less predictable anyhow, much easier to pull of “waves” of attack when 1/2 the game you have 5 legit attackers at once

Byram is an elite skater and good in transition but still working on translating his offensive skillset. Timmins is a meh skater and his breakout is based more on passing

 

[Burke's Evil Spirit]

Avs have 4, maybe 5 top-pairing defensemen. It's nuts. Amazing job their GM has done.

 

[Nihiliste]

Avs have 4, maybe 5 top-pairing defensemen. It's nuts. Amazing job their GM has done.

Definitely not 5. We have 3 and a rookie who might be a future one. And then a couple good 4/5s in EJ when healthy and Graves when he’s playing with confidence

 

[flyfysher]

Yeah we’re not as much of a rush dependent offense as we used to be. Still attack a lot off the rush but much better than recent years and sustaining ozone pressure

They used to have occasional spells where they would sustain O zone pressure under Roy and JB in prior seasons but it’s unreal lately. Not just good. Like unreal.

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

I've watched hockey for 25 years and I've never seen a team control game after game the way the Avs have in these last 10 or so games, absolutely beyond fun to watch.

 

[DrMartinVanNostrand]

As an Avalanche fan, you have to realize we went through the following game 7 heartaches.

98 Oilers
99 Stars
2000 Stars
2002 Red Wings
2003 Wild
2014 Wild
2019 Sharks
2020 Stars.

We are 4-8 in game 7’s. I ultimately feel health will determine how far we go this year. Would be nice to see a Tampa v. Colorado final.

Ok, fair enough if you're rewinding the clock that far, but I think it's more than fair to say that what happened between 1998-2014 has almost zero effect on the current team. Who is still there from the 2014 team besides MacKinnon and Landeskog?

 

[falconski]

Ok, fair enough if you're rewinding the clock that far, but I think it's more than fair to say that what happened between 1998-2014 has almost zero effect on the current team. Who is still there from the 2014 team besides MacKinnon and Landeskog?

EJ, but point stands going back to 2003 at least (and Barrie was out because of Cooke and landeskog and hejda injured by neiderreiter but still playing in ‘14, so injury issues weren’t nearly at last year’s level but were still there)

 

[Hasbro]

Seems like I’m nitpicking now, which I am, and also focusing too much on the title.

I’d be comfortable with someone saying the avs have dominated their opponents lately.

When you talk about their domination generally it’s sounds like a bit much. They are in 2nd place ffs.

The Colorado Avalanche: the NHL’s Dominatrix.

 

[The Merchant]

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Byram's getting a little overrated I think. He's not a top 4 guy yet. Sure he's a rock defensively and he's shattering his rookie expectations but he's made a minimal impact in the offensive zone. I mean it's pretty clear that he will be a stud and his play away in the Dzone and neutral zone is tremendous but he's not a top 4 yet.