GDT: Game #31 Avs in Arizona 8pm MST/11pm AST/ March 24th 4am Uncle Risto/ 9am Kingslayer

[BaconNater]

The goalie part is super frustrating.

The powerplays at the end were also frustrating.. 2 great opportunities in the OT powerplay and its like the guys got impatient and were just firing wild bombs from everywhere after the passes didnt work, too bad.

 

[The Kingslayer]

The goalie part is super frustrating.

The powerplays at the end were also frustrating.. 2 great opportunities in the OT powerplay and its like the guys got impatient and were just firing wild bombs from everywhere after the passes didnt work, too bad.

You cant fix bad goalies. You can 100% fix a mediocre PP. A 4 on 3 PP in OT is as close to a sure thing as you can get and even more so when Adin Hill is in net. Why Mackinnon was doing the Auston Matthews thing on the PP is beyond me. The guy is most dangerous on his off wing on the PP. Why Ray Bennett decided to go with that configuration confused the hell out of me. Cale sucking last night didn't help matters.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Don’t buy it. Game they beat us in Denver we outshot them 36-14. Goaltending mismatch that night

last night is 4-2 if Grubauer plays

4-1. Grubs only lets in the second goal. He stops the other 3.

 

[Pokecheque]

Interesting that Landy took the step of essentially defending Ray Bennett last night without outright saying it.

 

[The Kingslayer]

This is a management issue... they came into the season knowing the risk, and rolled the dice. It has backfired. The shots, adjusted for rebounds, are similar... the chances given up are similar... the high danger chances are similar... the shot distance is similar... the difference is rebounds and the ability to make saves. The xGA/60 for Miska and Grubs are 2.06 and 1.96... the GAA is 4.16 vs 1.71 between them. It is a one game sample here for JJ and the Avs defense wasn't perfect... but they didn't give up a ton of shots and even less high danger shots than normal.

Seems people are willing to give Joe a pass on this because hes made some other great moves. He shouldn't get a pass for this. The more they overplay Grubauer the higher the chances something catastrophic happens. Markstrom and Andersen were driven into the ground. Both guys got hurt and haven't been able to regain their early season form. In the case of Andersen hes hurt AGAIN.

 

[S E P H]

So this is what I'll say about the goaler situation. First and foremost, if we had Grubs in we probably would've won this game as better players reduces the amount of mistakes end up in the back of the net. However, if Johansson played the first game against Arizona I reckoned that he would've won that instead of this one. Avs were poor and when you have an iffy goaltender back there, you want to eliminate your mistakes (even if that means to play boring hockey) than actually exacerbate them as the Avs did all night long.

That was Johansson's first shootout game in the NHL so I would just forget about that as a fan and player since he obviously has work to do in that regard. Letting your first goal on your first shot when it was a floater from the point is harsh for the club from Jojo, but also not having a shot on for the first ten-ish minutes of the game isn't exactly helping the situation either. We've seen every goaler let in those floaters including Hasek, but when you're a bit struggling you need to stop that to gain some confidence IMHO. The second one was just bad coverage from Makar and Landeskog so definitely would not be any goaler's fault there.

Jonas did rebound nicely and I believe stopped the remaining 28 out of 30 shots which is something Miska even had a hard time with. So even when you lot will throw him to the fire, there is some potential there with him as depth backup when Francouz eventual comes back into the mix (and hopefully this season). However, of all the goals allowed you gotta stop the fourth one, I thought for me that was the most brutal and momentum changing for the game. That goal sort of highlights the fact that he's a bit clumsy in his movements and might've not grown into his frame yet on a footwork perspective. Those type of aspects of the game are definitely teachable with practice, but he also has to adjust for being bigger and compensate for that (or he's going to be in the SHL two seasons from now).

Even with all that said, Avs could've gotten him the win if they would've scored on the damn PP in the extra OT and you can blame all the star players for missing their one-timers or getting it blocked numerously. I told my friend that I would've loved to see Girard out there instead of Makar for a situation like this is because D'artagnan moves puck much more than Makar does and doesn't mind making risky plays. I don't exactly remember who wrote it, but I think it was @Northern Avs Fan mentioning that Cale is way to stagnate and stationary on the PP. That is absolutely true and it really and I mean really slows down the PP movement compared to when Barrie was up there. Hell, I would've preferred Toews with Girard alongside Rantanen and MacKinnon, but Bednar is going to stick with his guns I guess. Hill is the type of goaler I hope Avs would've got (or someone Johansson can hopefully develop into). He's the perfect type of third string that can eventually become a solid back up, but no way was Coyotes giving him up considering the injury lists with Raanta and Kuemp.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Interesting that Landy took the step of essentially defending Ray Bennett last night without outright saying it.

Landy a great guy. We can all see what hes doing. He shouldn't have to defend the PP coach. Ray Bennett should join Tim Peel in the unemployment line after this season. This team has too much talent to be mediocre on the PP. Last night they had a chance to win on a PP in spite of bad goaltending and they couldn't do it against Jonah Hill.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

So this is what I'll say about the goaler situation. First and foremost, if we had Grubs in we probably would've won this game as better players reduces the amount of mistakes end up in the back of the net. However, if Johansson played the first game against Arizona I reckoned that he would've won that instead of this one. Avs were poor and when you have an iffy goaltender back there, you want to eliminate your mistakes (even if that means to play boring hockey) than actually exacerbate them as the Avs did all night long.

That was Johansson's first shootout game in the NHL so I would just forget about that as a fan and player since he obviously has work to do in that regard. Letting your first goal on your first shot when it was a floater from the point is harsh for the club from Jojo, but also not having a shot on for the first ten-ish minutes of the game isn't exactly helping the situation either. We've seen every goaler let in those floaters including Hasek, but when you're a bit struggling you need to stop that to gain some confidence IMHO. The second one was just bad coverage from Makar and Landeskog so definitely would not be any goaler's fault there.

Jonas did rebound nicely and I believe stopped the remaining 28 out of 30 shots which is something Miska even had a hard time with. So even when you lot will throw him to the fire, there is some potential there with him as depth backup when Francouz eventual comes back into the mix (and hopefully this season). However, of all the goals allowed you gotta stop the fourth one, I thought for me that was the most brutal and momentum changing for the game. That goal sort of highlights the fact that he's a bit clumsy in his movements and might've not grown into his frame yet on a footwork perspective. Those type of aspects of the game are definitely teachable with practice, but he also has to adjust for being bigger and compensate for that (or he's going to be in the SHL two seasons from now).

Even with all that said, Avs could've gotten him the win if they would've scored on the damn PP in the extra OT and you can blame all the star players for missing their one-timers or getting it blocked numerously. I told my friend that I would've loved to see Girard out there instead of Makar for a situation like this is because D'artagnan moves puck much more than Makar does and doesn't mind making risky plays. I don't exactly remember who wrote it, but I think it was @Northern Avs Fan mentioning that Cale is way to stagnate and stationary on the PP. That is absolutely true and it really and I mean really slow down the PP movement compared to when Barrie was up there. Hell, I would've preferred Toews with Girard alongside Rantanen and MacKinnon, but Bednar is going to stick with his guns. Hill is the type of goaler I hope Avs would've got (or someone Johansson can hopefully develop into), but no way was Coyotes giving him up considering the injury lists with Raanta and Kuemp.

Nah, wasn’t me.

I actually think Makar takes too much criticism for the power play. Girard QB’d the PP 10 straight games against the worst teams in the division and the power play hit at 22%. That’s pretty bad, considering the competition. Since Makar has come back they’re at 27%.

Now, in terms of last night, I would’ve put Girard on the 4-on-3 in OT. Makar didn’t have it last night. Just wasn’t his night. He and Toews were not good. Mind you, I thought Hill was incredible to keep the puck out of the net in OT, but I like going with the guy who’s having a better night.

 

[S E P H]

Nah, wasn’t me.

I actually think Makar takes too much criticism for the power play. Girard QB’d the PP 10 straight games against the worst teams in the division and the power play hit at 22%. That’s pretty bad, considering the competition. Since Makar has come back they’re at 27%.

Now, in terms of last night. I would’ve put Girard on the 4-on-3 in OT. Makar didn’t have it last night. Just wasn’t his night. He and Toews were not good. Mind you, I thought Hill was incredible to keep the puck out of the net in OT, but I like going with the guy who’s having a better night.

Nah, Makar is pretty bad on the powerplay. Way too stagnate and plays too nice of a game up there, considering how good he's gotten his shot accuracy since his rookie season in the NCAA him just giving it to MacKinnon all the time is so predictable for other team's penalty kills. I apologise for the "@" though.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Ahh more powerplay talk. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault that Mackinnon passed the puck directly onto the tape of the defenders. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault every third game Kadri handles the puck like a grenade.

How is this on him?He has implemented a system that has a nearly perfect zone entry every time with possession. A system that is the second best at generating shot attempts on the PP in the NHL. A system that generates the second most shots on the PP in the NHL. A system that creates the 5th most pp scoring chances in the NHL and a team that takes the 6th most high danger attempts in the NHL on the PP. A system that has the Avs as the 4th highest expected goals per 60 on their PP. Yet Makar, Mackinnon and Kadri have an awful night of bobbling pucks and dribbling slow passes which are easily picked off and everyone goes off on Ray Bennett.

Colorado has one of the most dangerous PP’s in the league. The only thing the coach can’t do is put the puck in the net.

Some people take the easiest route to blame things on the coaching staff when the coaching staff has done a pristine job at both ES and on the PP of perfecting the X’s and O’s. It’s up to the players to execute.

The only issue with the PP is that when goals aren’t happening they don’t stick to the process. They’re doing everything perfectly but sometimes goals just don’t come. The thing is, they will. So instead of switching things up mid game like moving Nate to the bumper and Kadri high they should stick to their original plan because it’s dominating. Late in the game last night they switched their rotation and it lead to nothing but confusion. That’s my biggest hiccup with Bennett. Stick to the plan and keep dominating.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Nah, Makar is pretty bad on the powerplay. Way too stagnate and plays too nice of a game up there, considering how good he's gotten his shot accuracy since his rookie season in the NCAA him just giving it to MacKinnon all the time is so predictable for other team's penalty kills. I apologise for the "@" though.

Haha no worries.

I think he’s fine on that unit and the best option the Avs can use. What I wouldn’t mind seeing is moving Girard to MacKinnon’s spot and MacKinnon to the bumper.

The MacKinnon one-timer is just too unreliable for it to be a focal point.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Ahh more powerplay talk. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault that Mackinnon passed the puck directly onto the tape of the defenders. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault every third game Kadri handles the puck like a grenade.

How is this on him?He has implemented a system that has a nearly perfect zone entry every time with possession. A system that is the second best at generating shot attempts on the PP in the NHL. A system that generates the second most shots on the PP in the NHL. A system that creates the 5th most pp scoring chances in the NHL and a team that takes the 6th most high danger attempts in the NHL on the PP. A system that has the Avs as the 4th highest expected goals per 60 on their PP. Yet Makar, Mackinnon and Kadri have an awful night of bobbling pucks and dribbling slow passes which are easily picked off and everyone goes off on Ray Bennett.

Colorado has one of the most dangerous PP’s in the league. The only thing the coach can’t do is put the puck in the net.

Some people take the easiest route to blame things on the coaching staff when the coaching staff has done a pristine job at both ES and on the PP of perfecting the X’s and O’s. It’s up to the players to execute.

Why does Ray Bennett get credit for high danger chances and scoring chances?

So, the players get criticism for not scoring, but Bennett gets credit for designing a power play that produces scoring chances?

 

[henchman21]

Ahh more powerplay talk. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault that Mackinnon passed the puck directly onto the tape of the defenders. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault every third game Kadri handles the puck like a grenade.

How is this on him?He has implemented a system that has a nearly perfect zone entry every time with possession. A system that is the second best at generating shot attempts on the PP in the NHL. A system that generates the second most shots on the PP in the NHL. A system that creates the 5th most pp scoring chances in the NHL and a team that takes the 6th most high danger attempts in the NHL on the PP. Yet Makar, Mackinnon and Kadri have an awful night of bobbling pucks and dribbling slow passes which are easily picked off and everyone goes off on Ray Bennett.

Colorado has one of the most dangerous PP’s in the league. The only thing the coach can’t do is put the puck in the net.

Some people take the easiest route to blame things on the coaching staff when the coaching staff has done a pristine job at both ES and on the PP of perfecting the X’s and O’s. It’s up to the players to execute.

Yeah I don't get the Bennett hate as much as most. My faults on him are personnel more than tactics. Kadri isn't a bumper guy. Makar should be forced to be active instead of deferring to MacKinnon all the time. MacDonald should be on both units. That sort of stuff.

On the G/Makar PP debate... Makar has better tools, but doesn't utilize what he is nearly as often as he should. Girard is pretty damn effective when he is on the ice... his on ice rate on the PP is top notch and one of the highest in the NHL this season. Probably skewed a bit though. IMO Makar needs to be forced to break out of his shell on that unit. When he's moving and using his tools more effectively, the PP suddenly becomes a lot better.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Why does Ray Bennett get credit for high danger chances and scoring chances?

So, the players get criticism for not scoring, but Bennett gets credit for designing a power play that produces scoring chances?

I don’t really even know how to go about answering that. The answer is in itself. He doesn’t get all the credit. We have some talented hockey players. But he deserves plenty. When a team is one of the best X’s and O’s Teams in the league on the Pp it’s hard not to give the coach credit for that.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I actually love Makar on the PP since recently returning to the lineup. He’s ripping more at the net than ever and they’re getting through. Those pucks start going in eventually. Especially when the guys collapsing into the crease are Gabe and Kadri. Makar has a tremendous shot and when they don’t go in those two can do damage in front. I’d be really open to trying Saad in Kadri’s spot since he’s even better in front of the net.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I don’t really even know how to go about answering that. The answer is in itself. He doesn’t get all the credit. We have some talented hockey players. But he deserves plenty. When a team is one of the best X’s and O’s Teams in the league on the Pp it’s hard not to give the coach credit for that.

Gotcha. I’d just disagree that he’s elevating the power play.

I don’t look at the Avs power play system and think it’s particularly innovative.

The zone entry consists of dropping the puck to Nathan MacKinnon and letting him weave through checkers while the Avs plaster guys to the wall by the blue line.

I think the numbers you highlighted are more to do with the Avs players than Ray Bennett. Now, in saying that the players deserve the criticism when the puck isn’t going in.

You can run some set plays on the power play, but it’s more about players breaking down the defence and making plays. That’s why the Oilers power play is always good. It’s not the system, it’s Mcdrai breaking down the PK.

 

[Avs_19]

I'm fatigued by all the talk about fatigue.

Girard has had some off games here and there but he has played well overall and they've already cut his minutes back a bit. Last night was his first game over 25 mins in almost two weeks.

We praise Toews for his great play every single game and he had one of his best as an Av just the other day but he struggled on the second night of a back to back and it's because Bednar is running him into the ground.

Makar is the one where I might be starting to buy into @henchman24's theory about how many minutes he can play with his style. Not fully buying in but maybe just a bit. He'll still usually be good when the minutes increase, as we saw in the playoffs on many nights, but he might lose some of what makes him extra special.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Gotcha. I’d just disagree that he’s elevating the power play.

I don’t look at the Avs power play system and think it’s particularly innovative.

The zone entry consists of dropping the puck to Nathan MacKinnon and letting him weave through checkers while the Avs plaster guys to the wall by the blue line.

I think the numbers you highlighted are more to do with the Avs players than Ray Bennett. Now, in saying that the players deserve the criticism when the puck isn’t going in.

You can run some set plays on the power play, but it’s more about players breaking down the defence and making plays. That’s why the Oilers power play is always good. It’s not the system, it’s Mcdrai breaking down the PK.

I agree that the players have more of an impact than the coaches. I’m just saying everything is executed perfectly for the most part, so I can’t help but ask how are we getting mad about the coaching.

 

[Crossfire Hurricane]

Does the seeding even really matter? The first two rounds of the playoffs are intradivision, so likely Vegas and one of St. Louis/Minnesota. Avoiding Tampa until the end would be rad, but the road to the Cup probably goes through them. Losing a few regular season games because of a player whose main duties are going to be opening and closing the door to the bench in the playoffs isn't something I'm going to get worked up over. They just need to be a warm body to give Grub a break when he needs one to keep him healthy, if he gives up 5 goals on 7 shots, so be it.

 

[TanguaySauce]

Get Saros. They said everyone is for sale in Nashville not named Josi and Rinne. He's only making 1.5 mill and he's a RFA after this season. If Francouz is not good to come back this year or next year, just resign Saros and your goaltending issues are solved

All on board for this. Haven't seen his name thrown around too often but I'd be 100% on board.

 

[Richard88]

Does the seeding even really matter? The first two rounds of the playoffs are intradivision, so likely Vegas and one of St. Louis/Minnesota. Avoiding Tampa until the end would be rad, but the road to the Cup probably goes through them. Losing a few regular season games because of a player whose main duties are going to be opening and closing the door to the bench in the playoffs isn't something I'm going to get worked up over. They just need to be a warm body to give Grub a break when he needs one to keep him healthy, if he gives up 5 goals on 7 shots, so be it.

Having more points in the regular season has numerous advantages:

First and most obviously: easier opponent in the 1st round (eg. possibly Arizona or LA if the Blues fall out), as well as home ice in round 1 and 2.

Secondly, finishing higher in the league standings improves the chances of having a higher seeding in the semifinals, thus giving the Avs a better chance at having home ice in the last 2 rounds including the cup final. This could also be crucial with regards to avoiding Tampa until the SCF.

 

[henchman21]

Does the seeding even really matter? The first two rounds of the playoffs are intradivision, so likely Vegas and one of St. Louis/Minnesota. Avoiding Tampa until the end would be rad, but the road to the Cup probably goes through them. Losing a few regular season games because of a player whose main duties are going to be opening and closing the door to the bench in the playoffs isn't something I'm going to get worked up over. They just need to be a warm body to give Grub a break when he needs one to keep him healthy, if he gives up 5 goals on 7 shots, so be it.

Facing Vegas in the 1st round could easily mean a 1st round exit... I'd say it matters quite a bit. Avoiding Tampa in the 3rd round would also be a godsend.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

I don’t think they’ve been as good defensively the last couple games, but the top line has been going off production wise recently. They have 27 combined points in the last four games.

Rantanen is shooting a full shot per game more this season. Up from 2.4 shots/game to 3.4 shots/game. That’s really where the extra goals are coming from, because he always shoots at a high percentage.

On another note, I’m just realizing Donskoi has 21 points in 31 games. Holy hell.

 

[Pokecheque]

Ahh more powerplay talk. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault that Mackinnon passed the puck directly onto the tape of the defenders. It’s Ray Bennett’s fault every third game Kadri handles the puck like a grenade.

How is this on him?He has implemented a system that has a nearly perfect zone entry every time with possession. A system that is the second best at generating shot attempts on the PP in the NHL. A system that generates the second most shots on the PP in the NHL. A system that creates the 5th most pp scoring chances in the NHL and a team that takes the 6th most high danger attempts in the NHL on the PP. A system that has the Avs as the 4th highest expected goals per 60 on their PP. Yet Makar, Mackinnon and Kadri have an awful night of bobbling pucks and dribbling slow passes which are easily picked off and everyone goes off on Ray Bennett.

Colorado has one of the most dangerous PP’s in the league. The only thing the coach can’t do is put the puck in the net.

Some people take the easiest route to blame things on the coaching staff when the coaching staff has done a pristine job at both ES and on the PP of perfecting the X’s and O’s. It’s up to the players to execute.

The only issue with the PP is that when goals aren’t happening they don’t stick to the process. They’re doing everything perfectly but sometimes goals just don’t come. The thing is, they will. So instead of switching things up mid game like moving Nate to the bumper and Kadri high they should stick to their original plan because it’s dominating. Late in the game last night they switched their rotation and it lead to nothing but confusion. That’s my biggest hiccup with Bennett. Stick to the plan and keep dominating.

Someone on here (TV I think) said that Bennett's power play schemes underperform consistently according to advanced stats, and that includes his time in Los Angeles as well. It IS a systemic issue, whether or not MacKinnon foolishly deferred multiple times in one power play.

I will admit I like the fact they finally addressed some of the glaring issues the power play had (supreme lack of net-front presence and not waiting forever for the perfect one-timer setup) but that took WAY too long and it's still just not enough. Inexcusable that a team that can put this much talent on the man-advantage still struggles to find even consistent scoring.

It's highly unlikely that anything can or even should be done about Bennett this late in the season, but it the power play continues to perform like this he's definitely gone, and then we'll all be asking why he wasn't let go after the Dallas Stars series last postseason.

 

[Pokecheque]

Get Saros. They said everyone is for sale in Nashville not named Josi and Rinne. He's only making 1.5 mill and he's a RFA after this season. If Francouz is not good to come back this year or next year, just resign Saros and your goaltending issues are solved

Naw. They're keeping Saros. I'm sure they'll listen for deals on him but it'll likely be one of those where someone has to offer them something stupid for the guy they've been grooming as the goalie of the future for a while now, at least the goalie of the near-future until Askarov is ready.