GDT: Game 43: Avs @ Caps | January 12th, 5PM MT

[bohlmeister]

Duchene is definitely the most disappointing right now. This is his sixth season and he looks lost out there. This is also after coming off a great season where he was at a PPG and won Olympic gold. Out of all the things that might go wrong this season, I never expected this kind of regression from Duchene.

He is. The thing that pisses me off the most is that he started the year on fire. Was playing with Iginla and they were developing good chemistry. Why they haven't been put back together is beyond me. They haven't even tried it again. It was obvious those 2 played well together.

 

[dahrougem2]

Don't understand this at all. Somebody like Duchene needs a long stick? How so?
He uses his low centre of gravity to play low to the ice and has very quick hands which he likes to use to stickhandle quick and close to his body. He protects the puck with his body a lot. If anybody in the league needs to use a short stick it's Matt Duchene.

Let's not forget he was a ppg player last year with a short stick. Duchene's problem isn't his stick.

Maybe personal preference of mine, but when I played hockey I was a similar player to Duchene in the sense of speed/quickness/stick-handling but I always made sure I had a long stick. Helped me immensely in my two-way game and on face-offs, and I felt like I could catch passes a lot easier too instead of using a short stick. Maybe Duchene switched the year before, but if I were him, I'd be trying out longer sticks

 

[the_fan]

Haven't the Avs learn that you have to cover Ovechkin or he will score the game winning goal?

 

[bohlmeister]

Maybe personal preference of mine, but when I played hockey I was a similar player to Duchene in the sense of speed/quickness/stick-handling but I always made sure I had a long stick. Helped me immensely in my two-way game and on face-offs, and I felt like I could catch passes a lot easier too instead of using a short stick. Maybe Duchene switched the year before, but if I were him, I'd be trying out longer sticks

He uses it because of the down low play. He plays a lot with one hand behind the goal line. A lot like Crosby. If he had a long stick it would be easier to tie up and harder to control the puck with one hand.

 

[ABasin]

Maybe personal preference of mine, but when I played hockey I was a similar player to Duchene in the sense of speed/quickness/stick-handling but I always made sure I had a long stick. Helped me immensely in my two-way game and on face-offs, and I felt like I could catch passes a lot easier too instead of using a short stick. Maybe Duchene switched the year before, but if I were him, I'd be trying out longer sticks

Similar to Duchene? When I played hockey, I was similar to Cliche's dirty left sock.

IMO, Duchene's problem isn't the stick he's holding in his hands. The problem is inside of his helmet.

 

[RockLobster]

Similar to Duchene? When I played hockey, I was similar to Cliche's dirty left sock.

IMO, Duchene's problem isn't the stick he's holding in his hands. The problem is inside of his helmet.

His hair?

 

[Hesher]

This loss isn't the refs fault but that penalty on Varly was brutal.

Overall the Avs got what they deserved for a 20 minute effort.

 

[The Kingslayer]

This loss isn't the refs fault but that penalty on Varly was brutal.

Overall the Avs got what they deserved for a 20 minute effort.

The refs could've called 2 penalties before Varlys penalty. The refs could have also called 1 of the 58 pick plays the Caps made. They didnt. I dont think its the refs fault but they didnt help matters. The avs 15 minutes of work last night is the main culprit i would agree.

 

[Bubba Thudd]

The refs could've called 2 penalties before Varlys penalty. The refs could have also called 1 of the 58 pick plays the Caps made. They didnt. I dont think its the refs fault but they didnt help matters. The avs 15 minutes of work last night is the main culprit i would agree.

It's not the 15 minutes of effort that's the problem. It's the 45 minutes of slacking off that's the problem.

 

[Freudian]

Duchene's ability to handle the puck used to be one of his biggest strengths but now he's terrible at it. I grabbed a few gifs from the third period (not going to expose myself to periods one or two again) last night to illustrate. If he's not injured, I don't know what's wrong. Alzner did a good job playing Duchene's stick on the second play but it's still illustrative of how it's been for Duchene.





He did have some decent plays and played with excellent effort in the third so it wasn't all bad but he struggles so much with the puck these days.

 

[henchman21]

Frei's clip of Roy on the Varly penalty.

 

[frog]

remember that knee-jerk reaction when everyone was calling for avs to strip landeskog of the c and put it on Duchene when landeksog was struggling. I can imagine everyone regretting that choice now. Maybe its a good thing most of us aren't coaching an nhl team.

 

[ChibiPooky]

Not for nothing, but the Verizon Center ice is notoriously terrible and likely contributed in a big way to any stick handling issues.

 

[Bender]

He is. The thing that pisses me off the most is that he started the year on fire. Was playing with Iginla and they were developing good chemistry. Why they haven't been put back together is beyond me. They haven't even tried it again. It was obvious those 2 played well together.

I personally believe that they've been focused on getting the most out of RoR after he had such a poor start. They know they need to deal him sooner rather than later. Think about it, they put RoR with Duchene at the start of the season and they were terrible. Then he was shifted to another line with Landeskog and it didn't work and now they have him with Tanguay and Iginla at center (playing the position where he'd get the best return, as a centerman) and he's looked TONS better than he had the first 2 months of the season.

You might think this is far fetched but I would venture that the RoR trade is as important, maybe even moreso than making the playoffs this season. They can't screw it up and they need to get back full value.

This loss isn't the refs fault but that penalty on Varly was brutal.

Overall the Avs got what they deserved for a 20 minute effort.

Agreed. I didn't like the officiating one bit tonight but if the Avs had played the whole game like they did in the 3rd, we would have won handily.

I STILL don't get why Cliche is in the lineup. He was directly responsible for the 1st goal after losing a defensive zone faceoff outright. The guy doesn't bring ANY offense while missing the odd empty net, he's not even that good defensively and I hate the angles he takes on the PK. His faceoff % is 49.5, nothing to write home about. When he's not horrible, he's never actually good....just 'meh'.

Don't understand how this guy is in the NHL at all or why we're playing him as 4th line center. When Talbot filled in for Mitchell as 3rd line center, I was really impressed with him and loved the way he was playing. Even if the team wasn't winning, I loved his game at center. His faceoff % is also best on the team at 53% although he has taken like 5 times less draws than the other regular centers. I would easily put Talbot as 4th line C and scratch Cliche and bring back Everberg. Easy decision right there.

The number of offensive zone starts our 4th line gets is alarming. It's almost as if he wants to put them out there but doesn't want to risk a defensive zone faceoff in case we get easily scored on like we did last night.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I would easily put Talbot as 4th line C and scratch Cliche and bring back Everberg. Easy decision right there.

I don't agree. Cliche had a rough night last night, no doubt, but he's been fine this season. I certainly think he's been better than lead foot McLeod. I don't think the Avs went into the season with the intention of Cliche being a full time regular in the lineup, but the Winchester injury has forced their hand. That was supposed to be his role, and he's certainly an upgrade.

I also don't want Everberg on the team if he's only playing a few minutes. He should be in the AHL playing a lot unless he's getting more time on the top 3 lines up here.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

I personally believe that they've been focused on getting the most out of RoR after he had such a poor start. They know they need to deal him sooner rather than later. Think about it, they put RoR with Duchene at the start of the season and they were terrible. Then he was shifted to another line with Landeskog and it didn't work and now they have him with Tanguay and Iginla at center (playing the position where he'd get the best return, as a centerman) and he's looked TONS better than he had the first 2 months of the season.

You might think this is far fetched but I would venture that the RoR trade is as important, maybe even moreso than making the playoffs this season. They can't screw it up and they need to get back full value.



Agreed. I didn't like the officiating one bit tonight but if the Avs had played the whole game like they did in the 3rd, we would have won handily.

I STILL don't get why Cliche is in the lineup. He was directly responsible for the 1st goal after losing a defensive zone faceoff outright. The guy doesn't bring ANY offense while missing the odd empty net, he's not even that good defensively and I hate the angles he takes on the PK. His faceoff % is 49.5, nothing to write home about. When he's not horrible, he's never actually good....just 'meh'.

Don't understand how this guy is in the NHL at all or why we're playing him as 4th line center. When Talbot filled in for Mitchell as 3rd line center, I was really impressed with him and loved the way he was playing. Even if the team wasn't winning, I loved his game at center. His faceoff % is also best on the team at 53% although he has taken like 5 times less draws than the other regular centers. I would easily put Talbot as 4th line C and scratch Cliche and bring back Everberg. Easy decision right there.

The number of offensive zone starts our 4th line gets is alarming. It's almost as if he wants to put them out there but doesn't want to risk a defensive zone faceoff in case we get easily scored on like we did last night.

He let Ovi have all the room in the world on the 2nd goal as well.

I really don't mind the lost face off. That's going to happen. That's basically a 50/50 puck. Losing a face off isn't so terrible. The bad part to me is how he let that guy get between him and the net and then even allowed that guy float a few feet away from him. That positioning allowed for a very easy rebound goal.

Yeah, I don't get why Talbot isn't the 4C with Everberg replacing Cliche.

 

[Bender]

I don't agree. Cliche had a rough night last night, no doubt, but he's been fine this season. I certainly think he's been better than lead foot McLeod. I don't think the Avs went into the season with the intention of Cliche being a full time regular in the lineup, but the Winchester injury has forced their hand. That was supposed to be his role, and he's certainly an upgrade.

I also don't want Everberg on the team if he's only playing a few minutes. He should be in the AHL playing a lot unless he's getting more time on the top 3 lines up here.

Define 'fine'. If you mean being just a warm body, then yeah...I agree. I don't think he's particularly defensively or on the PK and he brings nothing offensively. I've never been a fan. He was BRUTAL to start the season...then had a stretch where he was at least skating like his butt was on fire but that lasted maybe 7-8 games and now he's back to being 'meh' or awful. Not sure why people keep dumping on McLeod, he has a role and he fills it. At least he hits and provides toughness...what does Cliche bring?

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

I know his stick was always short and then he switched to a shorter one last year because of talking it over with Crosby. Maybe he did again this year? If so I take back my statement and maybe he went too short.


http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche...-matt-duchene-is-getting-long-results-shorter
That's from 2013^

I thought he went longer this year in order to become a better shooter.

99% sure he changed the curve of the stick though. Maybe that is part of the problem?

 

[Pokecheque]

99% sure he changed the curve of the stick though. Maybe that is part of the problem?

After viewing those GIFs I'd say that's definitely the problem. He never fumbled with the puck like that last season.

 

[Foppa2118]

After viewing those GIFs I'd say that's definitely the problem. He never fumbled with the puck like that last season.

From what I've seen that's more of a recent problem, and a result of a loss in confidence. He's trying to do too much and thinking quicker than his hands.

It's his approach to the game and his poor shot accuracy that started the slump IMO. The confidence issues have just compounded the problem like always for him.

Just look at that first gif. Even if he didn't loose the puck what the hell was he gonna do there? He just skated right into the middle of four players. It would have been deflected out of play easily just like all his shots lately.

 

[Avs_19]

Define 'fine'. If you mean being just a warm body, then yeah...I agree. I don't think he's particularly defensively or on the PK and he brings nothing offensively. I've never been a fan. He was BRUTAL to start the season...then had a stretch where he was at least skating like his butt was on fire but that lasted maybe 7-8 games and now he's back to being 'meh' or awful. Not sure why people keep dumping on McLeod, he has a role and he fills it. At least he hits and provides toughness...what does Cliche bring?

If the role is to make mean faces and yell at people after the whistle, I'd say he's doing an exceptional job. He must be one hell of a leader and presence in the dressing room because he does nothing productive on the ice.

 

[Foppa2118]

Define 'fine'. If you mean being just a warm body, then yeah...I agree. I don't think he's particularly defensively or on the PK and he brings nothing offensively. I've never been a fan. He was BRUTAL to start the season...then had a stretch where he was at least skating like his butt was on fire but that lasted maybe 7-8 games and now he's back to being 'meh' or awful. Not sure why people keep dumping on McLeod, he has a role and he fills it. At least he hits and provides toughness...what does Cliche bring?

The vast majority of people either don't know what goes into his role because it's not flashy, or don't agree that it is imortant, so it doesn't matter how good he actually is at it. They'll never see it, so they think he doesn't do anything for the team.

Meanwhile Cody's been i the league for 8 straight years under 4 different coaches with the same team, and I can't remember the last time he was a healthy scratch. I'd say they have a better idea of what he does to help the team.

 

[Avs_19]

The vast majority of people either don't know what goes into his role because it's not flashy, or don't agree that it is imortant, so it doesn't matter how good he actually is at it. They'll never see it, so they think he doesn't do anything for the team.

Meanwhile Cody's been i the league for 8 straight years under 4 different coaches with the same team, and I can't remember the last time he was a healthy scratch. I'd say they have a better idea of what he does to help the team.

Yeah, that must be it.

 

[Bender]

Yeah, that must be it.

Lol, he's a role player who plays hard every night, hits and disturbs the opposition all the while keeping it under control most nights without taking stupid penalties. At the same time, he's STILL outscoring Cliche who's missed at least 3 empty nets this year and provides very little of anything. Sucks on faceoffs, average skater, doesn't really hit, won't really trash talk or fight, isn't great defensively, can't score, can't really pass, works hard...that's about it.

Every time that line gets thrown out there with Cliche as the center I cringe and more often than not, they end up pinned in their own zone.

 

[Foppa2118]

Yeah, that must be it.

Either that or they know more than four NHL coaches do, with seven Stanley Cups between them.