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GDT: Flames @ Avs | Sunday, September 28th, 6pm MT (radio only) | in search of victory

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Drury_Sakic

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Jul 25, 2003
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The Shermanator said:
This along with the Playoff loss just proves how important Mitchell is to this team.
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This is true, if not also a subtle jab at Mitchell all the same.

The bottom 6 on the Avs is still a good cut below the rest of the contenders in the west...not that they are not improved over last year, but still probably the biggest weakness outside of a legit #1 D man on the team. Mitchell is really the only one of the bottom 6 regulars that can make anything happen by himself, even if he gives it away foolishly some.


I think losing in the pre-season is not a bad thing for the Avs. Takes the piss out of them early and hopefully it allows Roy's message of needing to work hard and not ride on last years success sink in all the better.

That said, it could also force Roy into making another move like he did against the Ducks. He may need to do something to put the team back into the "us against the world" mode.
 
Avs71

Avs71

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Aug 12, 2008
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Sure, the Avs dressed most of their roster and lost, but it's not like a roster that is 80% there is reflective of a real game situation. For example, Holden leads all defencemen in ice time at 23:10. Elliott is playing, and manages to go -2 in 13 minutes of ice time. The 4th line of all AHLers goes -1. A low profile rookie in Rendulic gets 17 minutes of ice time. Agozzino and Hishon play just as much as MacKinnon.

I don't know why it is always a surprise when a team of players trying to make the NHL beat a team that feels their spot is secure. Have these Avs earned the right to coast through preseason? Obviously not, but there is probably a big mental block of not wanting to get injured in a game where they just want to get their hands and feet moving.

If the Avs, as a full roster and game like situation, lay an egg against the Kings in Vegas, then it might be time be to start thinking the team isn't focused going into the regular season. No need to panic though until the Avs are 10 points out of a playoff spot.
 
Chileiceman

Chileiceman

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Dec 14, 2004
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I wonder if there has ever been a player in the history of the Avs who has had more of a love-hate relationship with fans than John Mitchell. At first we were like, "pass the puck, you dummy!!", and now we're like "PLZZZ COME BACK!!!!11!!"
 
RockLobster

RockLobster

King in the North
Jul 5, 2003
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Chileiceman said:
I wonder if there has ever been a player in the history of the Avs who has had more of a love-hate relationship with fans than John Mitchell. At first we were like, "pass the puck, you dummy!!", and now we're like "PLZZZ COME BACK!!!!11!!"
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Skoula...dat puck poise! :sarcasm:
 
The Shermanator

The Shermanator

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Jul 2, 2011
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Chileiceman said:
I wonder if there has ever been a player in the history of the Avs who has had more of a love-hate relationship with fans than John Mitchell. At first we were like, "pass the puck, you dummy!!", and now we're like "PLZZZ COME BACK!!!!11!!"
Click to expand...

The minute he comes back we are going to bash him so hard.

We just need someone to hate.
 
Lonewolfe2015

Lonewolfe2015

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This team just can't stop defying the experts.

Last year they won a bunch with a low Corsi, this year they'll lose a bunch with a high Corsi. Book it.
 
Avelanche

Avelanche

#freeRedmond
Jun 11, 2011
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Avs71 said:
Sure, the Avs dressed most of their roster and lost, but it's not like a roster that is 80% there is reflective of a real game situation. For example, Holden leads all defencemen in ice time at 23:10. Elliott is playing, and manages to go -2 in 13 minutes of ice time. The 4th line of all AHLers goes -1. A low profile rookie in Rendulic gets 17 minutes of ice time. Agozzino and Hishon play just as much as MacKinnon.

I don't know why it is always a surprise when a team of players trying to make the NHL beat a team that feels their spot is secure. Have these Avs earned the right to coast through preseason? Obviously not, but there is probably a big mental block of not wanting to get injured in a game where they just want to get their hands and feet moving.

If the Avs, as a full roster and game like situation, lay an egg against the Kings in Vegas, then it might be time be to start thinking the team isn't focused going into the regular season. No need to panic though until the Avs are 10 points out of a playoff spot.
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Nah, it's preseason. Even than it wouldn't matter. You are 100% right about the first part, it's not a game situation and Roy isn't treating it like one. He isn't playing to win. Even with a full roster he probably isn't matching lines like he would and just trying to get everyone in sync.

Only thing that matters is how guys like Elliott, Siemens, Hishon, etc. look because preseason games mean something to them, the Avs have invested a lot of time in them, and most likely they will be on the team in the coming years. I've only been able to actually see one game too. Hard to judge the team so far.
 
Skip2myBordyloo

Skip2myBordyloo

Stay the course
Apr 7, 2010
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I loved Wilson pre-injury, would crank people on a regular basis, showed some offensive skills, wasn't terrible in the d-zone. It seems like all the injuries piled up really took a toll on his development setting him back and then some. I'm not sure we'll ever see an NHL regular out of him again. I don't hate him, But I'd rather Guenin or Elliott play.

I want to get an Iginla jersey but damn, I really hate the piping on the primary's might have to go for a Blueberry even though I'm not a big fan of them.
 
bromando

bromando

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Jun 4, 2013
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Was at the game last night and have a few thoughts...although I'll admit I was distracted because I brought some friends that don't know much about hockey so I was telling them what offsides and icing meant for a good portion of the game.

Duchene and O'Reilly are magic together. Really excited to watch them again this year.

Landeskog was a beast. Man among boys really (which makes sense given the Flames lineup). Mackinnon was great too. We are so lucky to have these four young forwards in the lineup.

Iginla had a slow start but got it going a little bit later. Will be interesting to watch him gel. I almost wonder if it would be good for him and Tanguay to play together on a third line and then spread the rest of the talent out. On second thought, maybe not. But it just seems like he was having a tough time getting on the same page with anyone. Tanguay had an off night too. I'll just chalk that up to them being vets in the preseason and wait for the season to start for real analysis.

I like Holden a lot. He looks very in control and even though he shows signs of being a #6, I think he can play much higher (good #4, serviceable #3) than that if he keeps progressing as a late bloomer.

Elliott - I've been rooting for him for so long. I thought he'd be in Barrie's shoes by now. You can tell he's got great offensive instincts and can move the puck up the ice really well. However, he's just not physical enough and did a horrendous job along the boards on the first goal. At this point I say why not try him at forward? He's got real talent there and I just don't see him ever being able to handle the load of being a D man with how light he is on checks. People will just bully him.

I liked Agozzino and Hishon. Agozzino played pretty well - had a lot of shots and looked decently skilled. It's too bad he's so small. Hishon had spurts of looking great and then a couple lapses. I think some time in LE will do him wonders and I'll keep rooting for him.

Rendulic was better than expected. From what I read here, I wasn't expecting much but he was pretty solid. He wiffed on a few shots and couldn't quite keep up with first liners but Roy gave him an opportunity to prove himself and I think he did a good job (he was on 1st line PP every time which surprised me). Look forward to his development.

To me it seemed like Roy told the D to pinch a lot to get the feel of it. There were quite a few times where both D men were pinching at the same time and were deep in the zone. Stuart especially was pinching which lead to a few odd man rushes. Not upset by this as the preseason is all about getting back into the game and I feel like these guys needed to feel it out.

Overall, not upset by the score as we controlled most of the game and just had a couple lapses. It seemed like the roster players were in cruise control.
 
bromando

bromando

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Jun 4, 2013
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Also, just saw a post that our PP looked bad. Not true. It was dominant. We were moving the puck all around and the only bad part about it was the finishing. We had some absolutely beautiful passing plays and our team was constantly moving and in great position.

As someone said earlier in the thread, we were snakebitten (and the Flames' goalies made some good saves. The game could've easily been 5-2. I'll take the bad breaks now.
 
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