GDT: Game 45: Pens @ Avs; 10AM GST+8 Saturday (like 7pm Fri local); Which team shows up?

[Tweaky]

Lineups: Some dudes for each team, but not all of them for either. (will update as I find up to date info)

Colorado:​

Landeskog	MacKinnon	Rantanen
Nichushkin	Kadri	Burakovsky
Neito	Bellemare	Calvert
Kamenev	Jost	Compher

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Girard	Johnson
Zadorov	Cole
Graves	Makar

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Francouz

Pittsburgh:​

Kahun	Malkin	Rust
Simon	McCann	Hornqvist
Aston-Reese	Blueger	Tanev
Galchenyuk	Agozzino	Lafferty

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Johnson	Letang
Pettersson	Marino
Riikola	Ruhwedel

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Murray

Music:



Odds:.................Pittsburgh Penguins Colorado Avalanche
Money Line ................ +135 ............................ -161
Point Spread.................+1.5 ............................ -1.5
Total Points: ............ Over / Under: 6.5

(there are times I really hate the way this site formats posts)​

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[Bubba Thudd]

JUST WIN

 

[henchman21]

JUST WIN

Nah they’re good.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Friday night games are my favorite. Wish Sid was playing but we need all the help we can get right now so it’s probably for the better lol

 

[Spleenless Wonder21]

MacK can mourn the absence of his idol in pregame

then hopefully lay waste to to Pittspuke.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Let’s get at least 1 f***ing point this week.

The third periods of those regulation losses on Monday and Tuesday still sting.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

GMJR on the trip with them? Watch Galchenyuk be our 3C tonight lol.

 

[AvsFan29]

Everyone else keeps winning, so we probably have to win this

 

[TanguaySauce]

This feels like one of those games where we could pot 4 by the middle of the second and then try and hold on for dear life or get blown out by 4 and fold like a cheap suit.

 

[kl35ha]

We’re still like 20 days until February. I want a win but is January so meh...if Bednar keep rolling with Landy and Rant as MacK wingers and also have them on the same pp unit chance of winning are even worse.

#pp+pk

 

[AvsGuy]

We really should win this game. I don't overly know who half that Pittsburgh roster is.

 

[wayninja]

Ready for a by-the-numbers contest with absolutely not surprises.

 

[Ararana]

It's all doom and gloom in here, but the guys at the Athletic are sipping on the Avs juice hard

The Athletic's NHL prediction spectacular: Projecting the...

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Because our analytics are still very good. On paper we're still a very strong team, especially at 5 on 5 where things matter the most.


We've got some minor effort issues right now and perhaps a slightly more concerning goaltending issue with Gruby.

But other than that I'm not concerned in the least. The ship will right itself and we'll peel off 4-5 wins in a row again soon enough.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Because our analytics are still very good. On paper we're still a very strong team, especially at 5 on 5 where things matter the most.


We've got some minor effort issues right now and perhaps a slightly more concerning goaltending issue with Gruby.

But other than that I'm not concerned in the least. The ship will right itself and we'll peel off 4-5 wins in a row again soon enough.

If we lose another 5/6 straight than I think it could be get panicked, but at the moment were just in a funk. The ship should be righted here soon and we'll be back to normal I'm sure of it.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

If we lose another 5/6 straight than I think it could be get panicked, but at the moment were just in a funk. The ship should be righted here soon and we'll be back to normal I'm sure of it.

Yep. The upcoming All-Star break and bye week should do a lot to help rest guys as well.


Though I will say the playoff bubble has jumped up closer to us than I had realized. We're 4 points up on that bubble now but like 5 teams between us and 9th still.


We do need to turn things around soon but the analytical data over our last couple of weeks are still quite strong and our 5 on 5 numbers are good. I'm not concerned now but lose another 5 straight and things change.

 

[Freudian]

I wonder when Bednar will abandon the new PP. It's so weird having Burakovski in the right one-timer position while Rantanen is in front of goal. Burakovski almost never shoots without handling the puck for a second.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I wonder when Bednar will abandon the new PP. It's so weird having Burakovski in the right one-timer position while Rantanen is in front of goal. Burakovski almost never shoots without handling the puck for a second.

It looks to me like he's trying to spread the wealth a little to try and give both PP units an opportunity to score.


He's been keeping Mack out for longer while rotating 2 different units around him.

But to me that's not the way to go about it. The best solution in to load up the Top PP unit, and use them for the full 2 minutes.

 

[AvsGuy]

If I were the Avs I'd go with the umbrella PP - Makar at the point, MacKinnon and Rantanen on the boards ready to rattle off one timers, and any combination of Landeskog/Kadri/Nichushkin in front to wreak havoc

There's no point having Rantanen in front of the net, and there's no point having two trigger men at the point if one of them is Girard

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

If I were the Avs I'd go with the umbrella PP - Makar at the point, MacKinnon and Rantanen on the boards ready to rattle off one timers, and any combination of Landeskog/Kadri/Nichushkin in front to wreak havoc

There's no point having Rantanen in front of the net, and there's no point having two trigger men at the point if one of them is Girard

Totally agree. I don’t know why they’ve gone to having Rantanen in front of the net.

Because he’s big? I don’t know.

It’s just kind of a waste, because they’re taking hit shot and seam passes away, which makes the PP, less potent.

 

[BaconNater]

Question: is it better for the Avs to go into the third leading or trailing? Both scenarios seem to be their kryptonite

 

[Pokecheque]

We really should win this game. I don't overly know who half that Pittsburgh roster is.

And yet they're one of the best defensive teams in hockey, and even without Sid the Kid and half their starting roster, their goal differential is creeping up on Colorado's.

 

[AvsGuy]

Oh I don't doubt that they're playing excellently, I just mean that the Avs need to play excellently (for once) so as not to keep losing to continually inferior lineups

 

[Avs_19]

Wasn't Crosby expected back tonight?

 

[mapletreemarty]

Wasn't Crosby expected back tonight?

He hasn't taken contact yet, and I read that he took a break from skating yesterday.