GDT: Game 34 - Islanders @ Avalanche - Insert Island Pun Here - 7PM

[Foppa2118]

Turnovers and bad penalties bite the Avs again. They have got to stop this. It's usually the D men too, as Barrie, Cole, Zadorov, and Nemeth have been terrible at both lately.

Varly looked shaky in this one even though he was fighting through it. Was totally screened on two of the goals, but I think he could have had the Boychuk one, even though he's got an absolute bomb. His rebound control has not been good either. I'm no goaltending expert but I feel like he's been playing too deep in his net lately.

I wish Barrie would stop with that too cute play where he flips his stick over at the point to grab pucks not in his wheel house. He insists on doing it every time, even when he doesn't need to, and he's risking chipping it out of the zone. Which he's done multiple times lately. Just use your feet like everyone else unless you need to reach for it.

Not happy with MacKinnon in this one. He was flying all over the ice, getting tons of shots, but like the D men he has been making some half ass passes lately. Not bearing down on his execution at all just flinging them.

Nate has also gotten back into a really bad habit of turning the puck over, and then hanging his head instead of back checking hard to make up for it. He's done that a fair amount this season, and the EN goal was a perfect example. If he would have just kept his legs moving hard through the neutral zone, he could have closed off on Filppula and got that puck back, instead of just letting him skate down and get an easy one.

Simple mistakes keep costing this team. Too many cute plays and not enough execution. Has to be maddening for Bednar.

 

[jvcjdudu jcycyxjene]

We may have a chance then

Unless if we score 6 goals.

 

[hooverdam]

Gritty looks at me like he knows my secrets.

He does.

 

[Avsboy]

EJ is the main issue right now

 

[The Kingslayer]

EJ is the main issue right now

Hes an issue but not the main one. I would say the PK and goaltending have been our biggest issues of late.

 

[Ivan13]

I can't understand why Varlamov was given another game.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I can't understand why Varlamov was given another game.

Me neither but hopefully now Jared can use the excuse to Semyon that hes given him chances and now hes gonna give Grubauer a longer look.

 

[klozge]

Hes an issue but not the main one. I would say the PK and goaltending have been our biggest issues of late.

I think there's more of a general problem. The team is great when everybody's willing to finish their checks and work hard for the puck. The team sucks when they think they can get away with purely relying on their speed game. I partly blame some of Bednar's decisions for the team getting away from what made them dominant early in the season.
Edit: Now there's also goaltending, lack of confidence, pk and so on but in my eyes it all started when the team decided to be skilled rather than hard to play against.

 

[dahrougem2]

2-4-1 last 7 games while averaging 3.28 GF/game. Giving up 4.71 GA/game. Disgusting.

If this team doesn't start to pick their play up, they could find themselves on the outside looking in come January.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Its entirely on goaltending. Varly simply not good enough the last 2 weeks. Even just replacement level goaltending from him and we're .500 over our last 7 games instead of what we are.

 

[Avs71]

Maybe Kerfoot is more important to the team than just a garbage stat player too.

Varlamov for a while looked like he deserved an extension. Unfortunately for him, and the story of his career, you just can’t trust him to not get hurt or go cold for a stretch of the season. I don’t really like Grubauer, but I would be interested in seeing what he can do if he gets the net for a while.

Don’t really like the defence pairings anymore. I’d like to see Girard moved away from EJ. It doesn’t appear like they are complimenting each other all that well anymore. Doesn’t really seem like any of the pairings are. I still would like to see a Barrie-EJ pairing tried. Barrie pushes the puck North/south more than Girard and I would imagine that would be easier on Johnson and whatever is going on with him right now.

 

[Piestany88]

Good Bye Barrie.

at the deadline please , summer seems too far away

 

[Piestany88]

The Isles did a really nice job of taking away the middle of the ice and slot, I think that's partly why Mac couldn't shoot much. They also put a pretty good amount of pressure in the corners whenever we got the puck deep.

Really impressive defence tbh, it's a shame Barry Trotz' coaching is wasted on a mediocre roster. He should've taken a break and waited for a better team to open up a coaching spot.

Avs?

 

[Piestany88]

I can't understand why Varlamov was given another game.

Because word is , Grubauer can't stop a beach ball in practice either. Having said that, start him next game anyhow

 

[Tralfamadore]

Funny how things turn around so quickly. Goal tending was seen as a position of strength at the beginning of the season.

Sucks to have to waste my 3000th post on this subject after game like that.

 

[henchman21]

Goaltending is an issue right now, but I think a lot of this could be plugged with a better second line. It isn't purely about offensive production (though that plays a part), but sometimes you need a good secondary line to stem the tide and create some momentum. The Avs have a lot going right for them and they are on the cusp of being a good team, they just need a touch more to elevate to that next level. Stinkers of a game like this show that clearly to me.

 

[hooverdam]

They're just in a stretch of some pretty terrible luck lately. A bunch of it is on goaltending and Bednar has done nothing to help that situation. But the Avs are generating a lot of chances of late; they're doing a better job of keeping shots against down, too. That should be a recipe for a good stretch of hockey but the goaltending is just taking the wind out of their sails and the scoring isn't totally where it should be for how much they're generating.

People are ragging on the defense a lot but aside from praying that EJ gets a second wind and maybe swapping Cole and Zadorov, I'm not too unhappy with them. The defense is what it is at this point and I think they're fine when they get the goaltending. Same for the Avs in general, really.

I want to see Grubauer string a few games in a row. Without context, it looks like he hasn't earned it but IMO he deserves a clean look without being thrown into a mess or having ridden the bench watching Varlamov struggle for days.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Ian Cole leads the D in ES TOI per game since the start of November so I think it would take a lot for them to make a swap.

 

[the_fan]

Goaltending hasn't been good lately but I'll still say that the biggest issues with the Avs is secondary scoring, and I'm not talking about guys chipping in here and there, they need a game changer or two on the 2nd line to take pressure off the 1st line, so when the 1st line struggles (like in this game) there is someone else who can change the game. I have faith in Sakic addressing that issue, he has done a lot of things right as a GM recently

 

[Pokecheque]

Ian Cole leads the D in ES TOI per game since the start of November so I think it would take a lot for them to make a swap.

And the overwork is showing unfortunately. I don't think he was supposed to be their top shutdown guy, though given the struggles of EJ I can understand why.

Though he's had sheltered minutes to a degree, Zadorov has been looking quite good. Maybe start making a transition? I don't know.

At this point, I think EJ should be on the third pairing, and Nemeth should be swapped out for Barberio long-term. Use a top four of Z/IC/TB/G and try to balance their minutes the best you can.

Overall I didn't think the defense was terrible overall. I agree with Henchy at this point--it's the forwards not getting the job done. Bednar has GOT to try something different now.

 

[Avalanche]

 

[The Abusement Park]

Wow. Kinda surprised on that. Figured he might get a game for that.

 

[jvcjdudu jcycyxjene]

I thought it would be at least a game or three. Really happy tho.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

Should've got game(s) for that. At least 1.

 

[Pokecheque]

He should've gotten at least one for that. DOPS continues to be a joke. Count your blessings, Ian.