GDT: Game 2 - Avs Vs. Blues - Redemption Round - 7PM MT

[Northern Avs Fan]

That 3rd line is basically the 4th right now... The Avs have $10mil tied up on that line right now, they need to be better. Nuke has had some flashes, Donskoi was okay, but Compher hasn’t shown up at all.




Makar was awful the first game, so yes I think Girard has been their best D through two games. That’s not taking anything from Makar last night, just more a testament to how good G was. He had 80% CF%, and 89.3% GF%. Insane.

Girard gave up the entire game in the 3rd period of game one. I guess I’m just not seeing this gigantic gap that some others are describing. I do think Girard was excellent in game two, just like the other top-4 D.

 

[AvsFan29]

Girard gave up the entire game in the 3rd period of game one. I guess I’m just not seeing this gigantic gap that some others are describing. I do think Girard was excellent in game two, just like the other top-4 D.

Girard has been fantastic offensively, with a couple defensive mistakes. I’m really excited to see what Girard does this season.

 

[AvsCOL]

Girard gave up the entire game in the 3rd period of game one. I guess I’m just not seeing this gigantic gap that some others are describing. I do think Girard was excellent in game two, just like the other top-4 D.

I guess what I’m saying is, Girard has been better than Makar in both games so far, and the advanced stats reflect that. Makar was unreal, but defensively he wasn’t as good. I don’t know why that offends the “Makar is god” crowd so much. It’s nice to see Girard having his time.

It doesn’t really matter because they’re both awesome, and it’s just my opinion.

 

[MaKarter]

Girard is insane but the special part of Makar is how easy he makes it look to pick up points.

Defenseman aren't supposed to be able to score the way he does. It's not a knock on Girard because he does everything a dman is supposed to do, at a tremendous level.

 

[Ararana]

This tweet chain is pretty good.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I guess what I’m saying is, Girard has been better than Makar in both games so far, and the advanced stats reflect that. Makar was unreal, but defensively he wasn’t as good. I don’t know why that offends the “Makar is god” crowd so much. It’s nice to see Girard having his time.

It doesn’t really matter because they’re both awesome, and it’s just my opinion.

I’m not offended at all. I just didn’t agree with your assessment.

I don’t think I ever said Makar is a god either. I didn’t think he, or anyone for that matter was any good in the first game.

It’s weird how credit to Makar, gets brushed off as fan boy behaviour on this board.

 

[chet1926]

Not sure where this Girard has been better than Makar crap is coming from. Makar- Toews have yet to be on the ice for a goal against while taking the toughest matchups. Notice how guys like ROR and Perron etc. Didn't have a single point. That had a lot to do with Makar and Toews. Not to mention Makar had 3 assists, 2 of which there are maybe 10 dmen league wide who could pull off. And easily could have 2 goals had it not been for Binnington making his two best saves last night on Makar.

Girard on the other hand was putrid along with pretty much everyone game 1, he was directly responsible for goal 3 against, but had a solid bounce back game yesterday where he made some dynamic plays.

I almost get the feeling that some people around here have such high expectations of certain players like Makar, that even when he has easily been our best dman, people look for the one bad thing and then twist it into look how much better Girard is playing right now, when it simply isn't the case.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

The advanced stats really just further paint a picture of how ridiculous Sammy G was last night. Best player on the ice, no question about it.

St Louis Blues @ Colorado Avalanche, 2021-01-15

 

[Balthazar]

Not sure where this Girard has been better than Makar crap is coming from. Makar- Toews have yet to be on the ice for a goal against while taking the toughest matchups. Notice how guys like ROR and Perron etc. Didn't have a single point. That had a lot to do with Makar and Toews. Not to mention Makar had 3 assists, 2 of which there are maybe 10 dmen league wide who could pull off. And easily could have 2 goals had it not been for Binnington making his two best saves last night on Makar.

Girard on the other hand was putrid along with pretty much everyone game 1, he was directly responsible for goal 3 against, but had a solid bounce back game yesterday where he made some dynamic plays.

I almost get the feeling that some people around here have such high expectations of certain players like Makar, that even when he has easily been our best dman, people look for the one bad thing and then twist it into look how much better Girard is playing right now, when it simply isn't the case.

That's some next-level bad take.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Not sure where this Girard has been better than Makar crap is coming from. Makar- Toews have yet to be on the ice for a goal against while taking the toughest matchups. Notice how guys like ROR and Perron etc. Didn't have a single point. That had a lot to do with Makar and Toews. Not to mention Makar had 3 assists, 2 of which there are maybe 10 dmen league wide who could pull off. And easily could have 2 goals had it not been for Binnington making his two best saves last night on Makar.

Girard on the other hand was putrid along with pretty much everyone game 1, he was directly responsible for goal 3 against, but had a solid bounce back game yesterday where he made some dynamic plays.

I almost get the feeling that some people around here have such high expectations of certain players like Makar, that even when he has easily been our best dman, people look for the one bad thing and then twist it into look how much better Girard is playing right now, when it simply isn't the case.

Quite frankly the reverse is true. Some people have such high standards for Makar that they literally ignore anything that doesn't show him as a god amongst men.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Nobody touches the puck more than Girard, he’s a massive part of everything this team does. He deserves some recognition.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Nobody touches the puck more than Girard, he’s a massive part of everything this team does. He deserves some recognition.

He’s Colorado’s best player through 2 games.

 

[AvsFan29]

He’s Colorado’s best player through 2 games.

I agree. He had 7 shots and 2 assists last night. He’ll start putting up some goals if he keeps up his shot rates. The next few games are going to be fun

 

[Tralfamadore]

The advanced stats really just further paint a picture of how ridiculous Sammy G was last night. Best player on the ice, no question about it.

St Louis Blues @ Colorado Avalanche, 2021-01-15

Lol literally tops in every possession metric.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Lol literally tops in every possession metric.

Pretty much

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Did anyone notice which side Girard was playing on?

It seemed to me like he and Graves were switching sides a lot.

 

[chet1926]

Quite frankly the reverse is true. Some people have such high standards for Makar that they literally ignore anything that doesn't show him as a god amongst men.

Not sure what I'm ignoring in Makar's play. In two games he has one really bad sequence that led to him taking a bad penalty he's fumbled the puck a couple of times, but so has everyone. He has 3 assists, could have a couple goals. He and Toews have yet to give up a goal against, while consistently taking the hardest match up 5v5.

Girard was bad game 1, on the ice for two goals against, 1 was directly on him for bailing instead of taking the hit. Got a fortunate 2nd assist game 1 on a broken play where we got more lucky than good. Had a great game yesterday.

But despite how well he played yesterday, I'm still not sure how anyone can say he's been better than Makar or even Toews for that matter. On par with, sure, which is a good thing, but better, not sure I can give him that after how bad he was game 1.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Did anyone notice which side Girard was playing on?

It seemed to me like he and Graves were switching sides a lot.

He played on the right almost the entire game. My memory’s bad so I forget how I feel about him when I’ve watched him on the right side but TMV said on twitter yesterday that he has always preferred him on the right side throughout his career and TMV is one of the best opinions on Avs hockey out there so perhaps that’s where he belongs. I’ve never seen him as good as he was last night and 19:08 of his 22:49 was on the right side so I definitely want to see him stay there.

 

[Balthazar]

Not sure what I'm ignoring in Makar's play. In two games he has one really bad sequence that led to him taking a bad penalty he's fumbled the puck a couple of times, but so has everyone. He has 3 assists, could have a couple goals. He and Toews have yet to give up a goal against, while consistently taking the hardest match up 5v5.

Girard was bad game 1, on the ice for two goals against, 1 was directly on him for bailing instead of taking the hit. Got a fortunate 2nd assist game 1 on a broken play where we got more lucky than good. Had a great game yesterday.

But despite how well he played yesterday, I'm still not sure how anyone can say he's been better than Makar or even Toews for that matter. On par with, sure, which is a good thing, but better, not sure I can give him that after how bad he was game 1.

Girard was the best player on the ice in game 1 (and that's including the Blues who were dominating) up until that turnover in the 3rd. I honestly dont know what the f*** you're talking about.

Also yesterday G played over 18 minutes at 5v5 vs 12 minutes for Makar and 14 for Toews.

G is our best D and it's not close...both on the eye test and in advanced stats.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I saw Graves on the Right side more than I saw G, at least when they were together. But I think they were kind of just rotating really depending on who was up into the rush, etc etc.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Girard has 45 points in his last 82 games (includes playoffs) and has lead the team in TOI in that time.

 

[Balthazar]

Also Graves and Girard were our first pairing last night according to ice time.

 

[Tralfamadore]

Girard being successful on the right side will sure up the top 4 perfectly.

Toews-Makar
Byram-Girard

 

[AvsFan29]

Girard has 45 points in his last 82 games (includes playoffs) and has lead the team in TOI in that time.

And at $5m for a very long time

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

He played on the right a lot of the time. My memory’s bad so I forget how I feel about him when I’ve watched him on the right side but TMV said on twitter yesterday that he has always preferred him on the right side throughout his career and TMV is one of the best opinions on Avs hockey out there so perhaps that’s where he belongs. I’ve never seen him as good as he was last night.

TMV?

If he can play the right side moving forward it opens up so many possibilities for this team in the short and long term.

I loved the way that Girard/Graves pair played and could see it being a fit for the rest of the season. Then when you look down the road in a year, or two he and Byram could play together.

Girard upped his speed in the offseason that’s taken his game to another level. He always had the great edges and turns, but now he’s got the speed to go along with it. The Avs are fortunate they signed him long term when they did. It might be the single most important contract to extending the Avs window long term.