GDT: Game 11 | Columbus @ Colorado | 2 PM EST | Back to "really foundational stuff"

[ViD]

Had we scored on the second 4min PP we would’ve likely won this one. It is what it is.

 

[Halberdier]

1st period was shit, but since then this has been enjoyable hockey game. Win or at least 1 point would have been much better, but if you are losing 0-3 after some 22 first minutes after Stanley Cup champions, winning isn't expected.

Tomorrow is a new opportunity and full fight has to begin at 00:00, not ~22.00.

 

[ColumbusTrill]

Only was able to watch the 3rd but the disparity in their powerplay compared to ours is something. Even when we get set up no one moves, passes are slow, no deception at all. Wish they would put Blanks back there. Z is not good

 

[ViD]

We’re officially last in the NHL in winning %

 

[cbjthrowaway]

Laine on the right side at the point makes me sad. I really hope that it's not Larsen's idea of how to use him this season...

I've been saying this a lot on this board but putting him on the right side on the power play is a significantly better way to run the first unit than what they've been doing. It eliminates some of Werenski's shortcomings in that role and puts Gaudreau in his best spot, too.

Clearly it worked today because the power play looked better than it has in a long time, and they actually got a goal. As fun as it is to watch Laine clap one-timers from the left side, the rest of the team isn't set up to facilitate that right now.

 

[Halberdier]

Only was able to watch the 3rd but the disparity in their powerplay compared to ours is something. Even when we get set up no one moves, passes are slow, no deception at all. Wish they would put Blanks back there. Z is not good

PP could be better for sure, but in all fairness they had a lot of grade A scoring chances on PP, so it's not all that bad.

And (relative) lack of movement is for sure the biggest problem on PP.

 

[tunnelvision]

Wish they would put Blanks back there. Z is not good

This can't happen soon enough. Also put Laine back on the left and JG on the right flank.

If having Werenksi on PP1 is still mandatory, then I don't really care where the players are located.

 

[Farmboy Patty]

We lost to the reigning champions and put up a fight. It will take a full 60 minutes of what we saw in the 2nd period to beat these guys on most nights.

I was entertained and feel pretty good about the outcome. If Johnny could bury some of his chances, we’d had a chance to win. Tomorrow is a new day and a new game.

The good thing is that the Avs are playing B2B and might be a little bit tired. The bad thing is that so do we, and may be even more tired

 

[majormajor]

Do we have that many bad defensemen or do we not have a competent system? I go back and forth and settling on both as the answer.

Maybe I’m a harsh grader, but when I look at how our D Men look, I see a #2 (Z), two #4s (Gav, maybe Blanks) and the rest as 6-7s.

I don't think those are fair grades. The top 4 tonight are all top 4 defenders with adequate defensive games.

I think a big issue is that our forwards rarely ever get sustained offensive zone time ("one and done") so we're constantly pushed back into our end. I suspect if you were able to compare defensive breakdowns per D zone time, that we might be similar to the Avs. They just don't have to defend much.

Only was able to watch the 3rd but the disparity in their powerplay compared to ours is something. Even when we get set up no one moves, passes are slow, no deception at all. Wish they would put Blanks back there. Z is not good

I look forward to Werenski getting pulled from PP1 (might not happen for a long time), but they got their chances tonight. All the second and third period PPs were piling in good looks. Johnny could have had a hattrick with any shooting luck.

 

[VT]

Once again, the CBJ's problem is the d-men, more specifically the first pass under for checking (although some have on the free ice too). The Gavrikov-Peeke pairing would have been third on another team, they had the least ice time. For us? One of the biggest. Further, it's nice to have a young line, but they have no experience, they lose physically. Why doesn't Lars put Jenner with them? Johnson may be a great center, but we're making him a winger.
@majormajor, if Gavrikov and Peeke were TOP4 d-men, I'm an elf. TOP4 d-man must has good the first pass.
EDIT:
I don't have the slightest pretensions to the players. They all fought. Unfortunately, Colorado has defensemen who can support the offense very well, especially Makar.

 

[ColumbusTrill]

PP could be better for sure, but in all fairness they had a lot of grade A scoring chances on PP, so it's not all that bad.

And (relative) lack of movement is for sure the biggest problem on PP.

True, today isn't the best day to complain about the PP. Had some great chances

 

[majormajor]

We lost to the reigning champions and put up a fight. It will take a full 60 minutes of what we saw in the 2nd period to beat these guys on most nights.

I was entertained and feel pretty good about the outcome. If Johnny could bury some of his chances, we’d had a chance to win. Tomorrow is a new day and a new game.

The good thing is that the Avs are playing B2B and might be a little bit tired. The bad thing is that so do we, and may be even more tired

Jackets have some illness in the room and are also on the back to back. We could look worse tomorrow.

 

[Marioesque]

As fun as it is to watch Laine clap one-timers from the left side, the rest of the team isn't set up to facilitate that right now.

It's a coaching choice, to facilitate Werenski in 1st PP. It could be changed to the other side by simply putting a RHD there but for some reasons Werenski has to be in it. That eliminates the Laine onetimer option quite effectively.

I'm not convinced it's a good coaching choice but it is the one we have.

 

[VT]

It's a coaching choice, to facilitate Werenski in 1st PP. It could be changed to the other side by simply putting a RHD there but for some reasons Werenski has to be in it. That eliminates the Laine onetimer option quite effectively.

I'm not convinced it's a good coaching choice but it is the one we have.

1. Werenski will always play in PP1.
2. If you disagree, see point number 1.

 

[NotWendell]

Do we have that many bad defensemen or do we not have a competent system? I go back and forth and settling on both as the answer.

I think we have middling defensemen in a bad system that's being executed poorly.
I also think we have good power play talent in a bad system that's being executed too slowly.

 

[cbjthrowaway]

It's a coaching choice, to facilitate Werenski in 1st PP. It could be changed to the other side by simply putting a RHD there but for some reasons Werenski has to be in it. That eliminates the Laine onetimer option quite effectively.

I'm not convinced it's a good coaching choice but it is the one we have.

If we had a suitable RHD to play point on PP1, I'd agree. If Boqvist was healthy, I'd give him a chance.

I get that people here love Blankenburg but you can't just put him on PP1 as a 24 year old rookie with 12 games under his belt when you have a $9.5m offensive defenseman with multiple ASG appearances under his belt.

Otherwise you're talking Peeke or Gudbranson which, uhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[MissADD]

PP1 overall looked really good when I could watch, PP2 was not that good to put it nicely,

 

[VT]

It's a coaching choice, to facilitate Werenski in 1st PP. It could be changed to the other side by simply putting a RHD there but for some reasons Werenski has to be in it. That eliminates the Laine onetimer option quite effectively.

I'm not convinced it's a good coaching choice but it is the one we have.

I think, it's not just about Werenski. When Laine is on the right, the PP is much more variable, the opponent has to watch out for other players as well. Besides, Patrik is a pretty underrated playmaker and Johnny shooter, even though he scored 40 goals last season.

 

[Marioesque]

I get that people here love Blankenburg but you can't just put him on PP1 as a 24 year old rookie with 12 games under his belt when you have a $9.5m offensive defenseman with multiple ASG appearances under his belt.

I get what you mean by that and it's not traditionally done but I don't have respect for traditions that don't work for the common good. Would not have a problem throwing a green rookie there to see how it goes, when we're the bottomfeeder by far in PP performance this season. Has Werenski been a centerpiece in a really productive PP ever? I know Johnny and Laine both have.

I agree, Boqvist would be the first to try but since he's out, I would try Blanks or even Peeke. The PP1 worked ok today, but it could certainly be improved. The pieces in it are capable of a lot more if properly utilized.

 

[majormajor]

I get what you mean by that and it's not traditionally done but I don't have respect for traditions that don't work for the common good. Would not have a problem throwing a green rookie there to see how it goes, when we're the bottomfeeder by far in PP performance this season. Has Werenski been a centerpiece in a really productive PP ever?

You'd have to go back to Werenski's rookie year to see him on a good PP.

We've been complaining about his slow puck movement every since.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

If we play like that, we’ll win some games.

Loved the push back to get back in the game. Bad penalties, bad goaltending, and a few missed offensive chances cost us.

Losses like this are fine because they are entertaining and you can actually see they’re building something. Hopefully they play that way tomorrow.

Keep Foudy in the lineup. And if you’re not going to play the kids please send them to Cleveland

 

[cbjthrowaway]

I get what you mean by that and it's not traditionally done but I don't have respect for traditions that don't work for the common good. Would not have a problem throwing a green rookie there to see how it goes, when we're the bottomfeeder by far in PP performance this season. Has Werenski been a centerpiece in a really productive PP ever? I know Johnny and Laine both have.

I agree, Boqvist would be the first to try but since he's out, I would try Blanks or even Peeke. The PP1 worked ok today, but it could certainly be improved. The pieces in it are capable of a lot more if properly utilized.

Since Werenski's not working and Boqvist is out, my preferences are, in order:
1. Keep Z up there but flip the wings (what they did today)
2. try five forwards (JG up top, more rotation)
3. Blankenburg
4. Bean (better at keeping pucks in)

 

[BB88]

We lost to the reigning champions and put up a fight. It will take a full 60 minutes of what we saw in the 2nd period to beat these guys on most nights.

I was entertained and feel pretty good about the outcome. If Johnny could bury some of his chances, we’d had a chance to win. Tomorrow is a new day and a new game.

The good thing is that the Avs are playing B2B and might be a little bit tired. The bad thing is that so do we, and may be even more tired

Colorado has been slumping pretty hard.
They aren’t that good of a team anymore.

To make the playoffs right now these are can’t lose games.

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Great experience overall, didn't realize we have so many oldschool Avs fans in Finland (of the Sakic/Roy/Forsberg era I guess, dare I say the earlier bandwagon...). I think the CBJ fans had a good showing too, and I bet it was the 5th line that got some chants going a few times. Avs' chants were louder though, at least to my upper bowl seat. Felt like I was surrounded by more Avs fans, but there were a couple of pretty knowledgeabe CBJ fans above me who were lamenting the Gudbranson signing and waiting for Johnny to do something magical (a bit sarcastically in a very "Finnish humour" way). Still, good atmosphere, the 1st was really quiet but improved as the game got going.

Play-wise the 1st was crap but the 2nd and the first 9 minutes of the 3rd was much better and I think that saved the night for a lot of fans; I left feeling pretty good (admittedly I'm not going to hate a Rantanen hat trick). Laine was trying a bit too hard but he was putting in the effort for sure, and could've had one more goal at least.

That said, I kinda feel Laine cost us the game with that penalty, it was bad timing and the momentum shifted back to the Avs with that. But they really should've used the momentum to get a lead before that.

One that I keep thinking back to is that Nyquist shot, it was really good, would've been top corner, Georgiev made a great save there (/perfect positioning). Johnny should've buried one or two, and I felt Johnson should've just shot that puck instead of passing to Silly - it was a great play though.

Finally, I'm starting to feel like Laine and Johnny could be separated now. They haven't clicked for more than one or two passes in a row. Johnny has been losing the puck on the boards a lot and his confidence seems low - taking some of the pressure off might help. He can carry his own line, he is good, he doesn't need Laine. Laine can't really do the same but maybe we could go back to last year and try him with Voracek, or Johnson. Roslovic seemed to win a lot of faceoffs today. Roslovic seems fine on 5-on-5 play, he's serviceable. Laine could benefit from simplifying his game a bit, make that one flashy move and then pass the puck or shoot, not try to dangle everybody at once...

I would also be open to doing a PP1A and PP1B - assuming you guys are right about Werenski, how about we put Laine on PP1B on his one-timer side and design the PP around that. PP2 hasn't really been great this year but there's no reason why we can't have two good PPs, we have the players for that.

Btw what happened to Korpi? Ilness? He was not the backup today, it was Tarasov. Hope that doesn't ruin Korpi's chances of playing tomorrow.

 

[majormajor]

Great experience overall, didn't realize we have so many oldschool Avs fans in Finland (of the Sakic/Roy/Forsberg era I guess, dare I say the earlier bandwagon...). I think the CBJ fans had a good showing too, and I bet it was the 5th line that got some chants going a few times. Avs' chants were louder though, at least to my upper bowl seat. Felt like I was surrounded by more Avs fans, but there were a couple of pretty knowledgeabe CBJ fans above me who were lamenting the Gudbranson signing and waiting for Johnny to do something magical (a bit sarcastically in a very "Finnish humour" way). Still, good atmosphere, the 1st was really quiet but improved as the game got going.

Play-wise the 1st was crap but the 2nd and the first 9 minutes of the 3rd was much better and I think that saved the night for a lot of fans; I left feeling pretty good (admittedly I'm not going to hate a Rantanen hat trick). Laine was trying a bit too hard but he was putting in the effort for sure, and could've had one more goal at least.

That said, I kinda feel Laine cost us the game with that penalty, it was bad timing and the momentum shifted back to the Avs with that. But they really should've used the momentum to get a lead before that.

One that I keep thinking back to is that Nyquist shot, it was really good, would've been top corner, Georgiev made a great save there (/perfect positioning). Johnny should've buried one or two, and I felt Johnson should've just shot that puck instead of passing to Silly - it was a great play though.

Finally, I'm starting to feel like Laine and Johnny could be separated now. They haven't clicked for more than one or two passes in a row. Johnny has been losing the puck on the boards a lot and his confidence seems low - taking some of the pressure off might help. He can carry his own line, he is good, he doesn't need Laine. Laine can't really do the same but maybe we could go back to last year and try him with Voracek, or Johnson. Roslovic seemed to win a lot of faceoffs today. Roslovic seems fine on 5-on-5 play, he's serviceable. Laine could benefit from simplifying his game a bit, make that one flashy move and then pass the puck or shoot, not try to dangle everybody at once...

I would also be open to doing a PP1A and PP1B - assuming you guys are right about Werenski, how about we put Laine on PP1B on his one-timer side and design the PP around that. PP2 hasn't really been great this year but there's no reason why we can't have two good PPs, we have the players for that.

Btw what happened to Korpi? Ilness? He was not the backup today, it was Tarasov. Hope that doesn't ruin Korpi's chances of playing tomorrow.

I agree with a lot of this but I would hold off splitting Laine and Gaudreau for now. I think they're just getting used to each other. Johnny seems off right now but I'd sooner attribute it to that cold going around or a lack of confidence or something. He has an ability to carry a line but only if the chemistry is right and I'm not expecting that to develop on a new line quickly in these conditions. I wouldn't want to change things up for him. Though I'm sure Voracek would appreciate getting Patty on his line!