GDT: Game 40: Avs @ Hawks | Tuesday, January 6, 6:30pm MT | Everyday is Exactly the Same

[nightonthesun]

Obviously the Avs are not as good as them but to say it was an abomination is just so inaccurate. It's taking everything to extremes that's tiresome. Every game is either great or terrible, every player is either fantastic or worthless, every prospect is either a stud or a bust. It gets exhausting.

This is nuts-on and precisely the reason I often lurk rather than post. HF is a hilarious vortex of emotional overreactions. Some of us seem to think that, despite the Avs' well-documented problems, that last night's win barely counts because we couldn't make the Blackhawks, of all teams, look like the weaker squad? Surprise: Chicago's really good and we still play weak team D. We won; enjoy it.

 

[frog]

After not watching the avs for a while I finally watched this game. And noticed how bad the d were once again. Horrible passing and decision making and they seemed to pass it to a forward that had pressure which caused the forwards to make bad decisions. Forwards still with no chemistry besides a few promising iginla/tanguay shifts. But man the defence just looked so weak. Johnson and barrie only two that know how to skate.

Duchene looks like a rookie in over his head right now...

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

Duchene looks like a rookie in over his head right now...

This is sadly a fairly accurate statement. I had hoped he'd be a good example for MacKinnon this year, but alas both are succumbing to the same problems.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I think Landy and Duchene have started to show some chemistry together. Unfortunately, Duchene is just not playing well so nothing much is coming from it.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Matt Duchene looks like the same guy that was playing injured a few years ago. He has to be injured and if hes not....oh boy.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

Really? I thought their passing was pretty good. Especially early on. They've actually been much better at this lately, and tonight it was pretty sharp IMO. Really high tempo pace to the game with good puck movement. This is a far cry from earlier in the season when they played a slow game and had terrible puck movement.

This isn't just some chump team they played either, the Hawks are going to have their moments. You just have to limit the grade A chances and the Avs did that IMO. All the Hawks best chances were shots from the point through traffic.

Just give it up dude. Some people are never going to be satisfied and will always find a way to complain about how terrible we are. We could win the cup, sweeping every series, never allowing a goal the entire playoffs and some people would still be whining that we didn't play good enough.

 

[madman]

Sorry, but 54 shots against is inexcusable.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

I just wanted to give a little shout out to Duchene and RoR for their success in the face off circle. Combined they went 23 and 6, while holding Toews, who is one of the best in the league to just 7 and 16, while on the road no less. Mitchell was even above 50% as well.

I notice RoR had 3 or 4 big wins at the end with an empty net and us icing the puck repeatedly, and thought we faired pretty well throughout the game, but I didn't realize just how dominate they were until checking the box score.


Hey IC, what were the scoring chances (sorry if you already posted it)?

 

[Freudian]

Here are Chicago's shot chart from last night. I've marked what's considered the scoring area in yellow.

There is a difference between shots and shots. Chicago shoot for rebounds and redirections from everywhere. It's not like they had a lot of grade A scoring chances. Often they get a couple of rebound goals when they play like this but Avs did a decent job of letting Varlamov see the shots he's supposed to and keep Chicago to the outside as much as possible.

 

[Chileiceman]

+ The win
+ Mackinnon gets 2 points
+ Good job at clearing rebounds, not giving up odd man rushes or many opportunities off the rush
+ Rendulic doesn't look out of place
+ Varly was the Varly of last year
- Inability to get the puck out of the zone with possession, being just content to get it out to the neutral zone
- Soundly outplayed, constantly being hemmed in
- General lack of chemistry half way into the season

 

[FoppaForsberg*]

How'd MacK look?

 

[InjuredChoker]

I just wanted to give a little shout out to Duchene and RoR for their success in the face off circle. Combined they went 23 and 6, while holding Toews, who is one of the best in the league to just 7 and 16, while on the road no less. Mitchell was even above 50% as well.

I notice RoR had 3 or 4 big wins at the end with an empty net and us icing the puck repeatedly, and thought we faired pretty well throughout the game, but I didn't realize just how dominate they were until checking the box score.


Hey IC, what were the scoring chances (sorry if you already posted it)?

6-11.

avs were leading chances at one point when the shots were something like 38-16 for hawks.

and even those chances they had, all weren't really grade A's as mentioned. they didn't get into rebounds well early on and were definitely shooting from everywhere. and duchene messed up few times where he could have had chance but managed to come out with nothing as he tried to be too fancy.

 

[InjuredChoker]

How'd MacK look?

better than he has for last couple of weeks.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

I think O'Rrilly has been the best forward on the team over the last 3 weeks or so, though Dutchy was the best for the first 3 weeks or probably longer. It's a tie, they both lose.
People will say Duchene has been worse though because it's hfboards and nobody remembers what happened in the past.

Or because people can combine the past with the current, and some actually value defense. I'm not saying you don't, not sure where you stand on that subject actually, but some people really only judge forwards by their offense. I admit I probably value D too much- to me it's just as important. When looking at the season as a whole RoR has had the better season to me.

Duchene has only 2 more points on the season, which really should be the same (RoR got screwed out of an assist early in the year when they took back that one goal that bounced off Everberg which they claimed was tipped in by a high stick by RoR, and a couple weeks ago Lando go credit for an assist when it was actually RoR who tipped the puck as it wrapped around the boards, not Lando). RoR has been a part of more goals scored (little things that don't pick up a point but still lead to a goal) but Duchene has more of the key plays leading to goals. So, all in all, offensively they have been equally as effective to me.

Defensively, it's not even close. RoR and Lando are easily the best defenders on the team. Big gap from them to anyone else.

Combine the 2 aspects, offense and defense, and RoR is having the better season as a whole.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

6-11.

avs were leading chances at one point when the shots were something like 38-16 for hawks.

and even those chances they had, all weren't really grade A's as mentioned. they didn't get into rebounds well early on and were definitely shooting from everywhere. and duchene messed up few times where he could have had chance but managed to come out with nothing as he tried to be too fancy.

Appreciate it. Seems acceptable to me for a team who is playing it safe with a 2 goal lead for 59 minutes.

 

[InjuredChoker]

 

[Hesher]

Varly

54 shots against is a too much but a lot of them were relatively harmless shots from the outside.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Matt Duchene looks like the same guy that was playing injured a few years ago. He has to be injured and if hes not....oh boy.

He has to be injured. He's been non-factor in too many games lately. He's not as explosive as he was last year or year before. He looks slow actually. He's not as strong with the puck either. Injury no doubt.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Varly

54 shots against is a too much but a lot of them were relatively harmless shots from the outside.

I agree. I don't even think Varly had AMAZING game, he didn't have to make that many game savers(less than normally actually). Most of the shots were harmless.

 

[dahrougem2]

The problem I'm starting to have with Duchene is he's just playing so stupid out there. That icing on the high-stick by the Hawks player was the icing (no pun intended) on the cake for me. Who does that? Why is the first thought you have to rifle it down the ice?

Then there's that mini two on one he had with Rendulic where he didn't even get a shot off. If he would have just slid it to Rendulic, who was WIDE OPEN and not being covered by the defenseman, we would have had a 3-0 lead and probably put the game away earlier.

I know Duchene tries too hard sometimes, but it's becoming very apparent that he simply refuses to use his linemates unless it's the absolute last resort, and even then he sometimes doesn't. I hope it's something Roy has been talking to him about changing

 

[Freudian]

I don't think Duchene wanted to ice it. He wanted to shoot it shorter and got too much on it. That wouldn't have been a terrible play.

 

[dahrougem2]

I don't think Duchene wanted to ice it. He wanted to shoot it shorter and got too much on it. That wouldn't have been a terrible play.

Why though? I just watched the play over again, he had many other options. He could have protected the puck towards the boards and chipped it high and out. He could have poked the puck through Hossa's legs since his stick was in the air, to Landeskog who was right behind Hossa and had nobody on him. He could have even just sat there and waited for a whistle because we were killing them on faceoffs.

Something like that is a frantic, nervous rookie play. That's a problem seeing as Duchene isn't a rookie

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah, he looked nervous all game long. It's cliche (not Marc-Andre), but he really is gripping the stick too tight. Screwing up that prime scoring chance earlier in the game and that "frantic" clearing attempt sure looked like indecision/nerves to me.

 

[Lonewolfe2015]

Why though? I just watched the play over again, he had many other options. He could have protected the puck towards the boards and chipped it high and out. He could have poked the puck through Hossa's legs since his stick was in the air, to Landeskog who was right behind Hossa and had nobody on him. He could have even just sat there and waited for a whistle because we were killing them on faceoffs.

Something like that is a frantic, nervous rookie play. That's a problem seeing as Duchene isn't a rookie

1. The ref was about to blow the whistle so he had to make a snap decision.
2. Any decision that didn't immediately get the puck out of the zone was a bad one.
3. He got too much on it due to adrenaline probably, trying to make such a quick decision before a Hawk got a stick on it after he touched it.

There's better situations to question Duchene on than that play.

 

[Pokecheque]

1. The ref was about to blow the whistle so he had to make a snap decision.
2. Any decision that didn't immediately get the puck out of the zone was a bad one.
3. He got too much on it due to adrenaline probably, trying to make such a quick decision before a Hawk got a stick on it after he touched it.

There's better situations to question Duchene on than that play.

Um, if he lets the Chicago player touch the puck, then the faceoff is in their end. So no, there was no rush and the ref was not about to blow the whistle UNLESS one of the Hawks touched it. Duchene could have at the very least softly batted it out of the zone. Instead he rifled it Stuart-style down the ice.

If anything he should've just waited because the Hawks eventually would've had to touch the puck or risk losing more time.