GDT: Game 54: Stars @ Avs | Thursday, February 4th, 7pm MT | Wake Me Up

[Cousin Eddie]

People are this upset over that loss last night... yeesh.

You're not Henchman

 

[NothingLikeAnEJ]

Teams go through bad stretches... they happen. The Avs are 3 points up on the Wild and 2 up on Nashville. This is their slump and they are still finding a way to get points.

People must be forgetting the teams we just played are some of the best in the conference and the Avs pushed through a 2-2-1 record. Not it lightens up for a bit and they can get going again.

True, but let's be honest, Minnesota has 1 win in their last 10 games so if they were even sniffing .500 hockey they'd be way ahead. Plus those teams have games in hand. Avs are going to have to play better if they want to hang on.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

People are this upset over that loss last night... yeesh.

It was terrible to watch. Why are you surprised? A lot of the games lately have been like this. They're back to being outshot significantly every night. Even Roy has sounded pissed off the last two games. Dallas attempted 50 more shots than them last night. The Stars had more shots on goal than the Avs had shot attempts all night. It was almost the same thing the other night, and against Dallas last time, and San Jose before the break. I'll take the points, but the way they're playing is completely unsustainable.

 

[IceRat]

the way we get outshot every game I'd just as soon Roy forget about D and give all these guys free reign to go Balls On The Table offensive attack

maybe then we will actually have some puck possession

I honestly don't think the shots against would get any worse

 

[henchman21]

It was terrible to watch. Why are you surprised? A lot of the games lately have been like this. They're back to being outshot significantly every night. Even Roy has sounded pissed off the last two games. Dallas attempted 50 more shots than them last night. The Stars had more shots on goal than the Avs had shot attempts all night. It was almost the same thing the other night, and against Dallas last time, and San Jose before the break.

I'm not saying they didn't play poorly, but it leaves a lot out of context. Teams really do go through bad stretches... they happen every season. In this bad stretch the team is still finding a way to get points and it was against the hottest team in the conference (San Jose), two best teams (Chicago and LA), and a team that is close to being in the top tier of the conference (Dallas). That was a tough 5 game stretch for any team, let alone one that has some holes.

The next 5 games are the Jets, Canucks, Senators, Red Wings, and Sabres... a hell of a lot different that the last 5 game stretch. They look this bad against those teams, then this reaction is warranted.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I'm not saying they didn't play poorly, but it leaves a lot out of context. Teams really do go through bad stretches... they happen every season. In this bad stretch the team is still finding a way to get points and it was against the hottest team in the conference (San Jose), two best teams (Chicago and LA), and a team that is close to being in the top tier of the conference (Dallas). That was a tough 5 game stretch for any team, let alone one that has some holes.

The next 5 games are the Jets, Canucks, Senators, Red Wings, and Sabres... a hell of a lot different that the last 5 game stretch. They look this bad against those teams, then this reaction is warranted.

The only game they get up for there is Detroit lol, that looks like a 1-3 stretch. Considering that their record against teams below them in the standings is around 2-8-2.

I'm like 60/40 for serious versus joking with this as well.

 

[Metallo]

Hey, the Avs upped their playoff chances from 58.6% to 62.5% after last night while playing against a top team in their conference.

Optimism. Pass it on.

 

[chet1926]

It was terrible to watch. Why are you surprised? A lot of the games lately have been like this. They're back to being outshot significantly every night. Even Roy has sounded pissed off the last two games. Dallas attempted 50 more shots than them last night. The Stars had more shots on goal than the Avs had shot attempts all night. It was almost the same thing the other night, and against Dallas last time, and San Jose before the break. I'll take the points, but the way they're playing is completely unsustainable.

This. I'm not upset that we lost, it's how we lost that annoys me. How do you get outshot by 20+ shots every single night is beyond me. Isn't there some kind of professional pride, that should kick in and tell the players that it's not good to be this outplayed every single night?

 

[Freudian]

I think everyone realize that part of the problem is that Avs don't have good enough players and some of the good players have stopped being good.

But it's not like Chicago or Dallas are filled with superstars at every position. Their role players play much more effective possession hockey than ours.

Avs fourth line has completely vanished and this team can't afford that since the third line sucks and the first line is wildly inconsistent.

Avs defense is wearing down, just like many of us feared.

I don't think Avs are as bad as they have been lately, but something needs to change quickly. They've gotten back to passive defence, panic icings and very poor ability to take the puck through the neutral zone. Non-winning hockey. Avs goalies have been superb for the last two months and that's the main reason they still have a chance here.

 

[cgf]

But they're not outplayed like this every single night. It's only been these past 5 games where EJ came back rusty, Varly got pulled into court and we had the long ASB to throw us out of whack...as this team always plays poorly with a lot of time of off.

I think that a big part of the problem was that everyone stepped up so well with EJ out; that when he came back there was a too much complacency from everyone thinking that they could ease up now that they no longer had to make up for playing two 20yo dmen...especially with the ASB right there.

[snip]

The hawks have better depth than us...but even they've spent a lot of time being carried by Crawford and the PArty line because the rest of the team was in a funk until the new year.

 

[The Kingslayer]

This. I'm not upset that we lost, it's how we lost that annoys me. How do you get outshot by 20+ shots every single night is beyond me. Isn't there some kind of professional pride, that should kick in and tell the players that it's not good to be this outplayed every single night?

Even if we won I would've been upset to be honest. I would've been happy with the 2 points sure but im sick of seeing us get outplayed. Been happening way to often of late.

 

[chet1926]

Even if we won I would've been upset to be honest. I would've been happy with the 2 points sure but im sick of seeing us get outplayed. Been happening way to often of late.

Fully agree, we're atrocious right now.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Even if we won I would've been upset to be honest. I would've been happy with the 2 points sure but im sick of seeing us get outplayed. Been happening way to often of late.

There is also the fact of how damn close we were in terms of score for both of the games against Dallas and Chicago. If the team had played just a little bit better they would have won both of those games with how good our goal-tending has been.

Just can't get that out of my head, that we left those three points on the board.

 

[chet1926]

I think everyone realize that part of the problem is that Avs don't have good enough players and some of the good players have stopped being good.

But it's not like Chicago or Dallas are filled with superstars at every position. Their role players play much more effective possession hockey than ours.

Avs fourth line has completely vanished and this team can't afford that since the third line sucks and the first line is wildly inconsistent.

Avs defense is wearing down, just like many of us feared.

I don't think Avs are as bad as they have been lately, but something needs to change quickly. They've gotten back to passive defence, panic icings and very poor ability to take the puck through the neutral zone. Non-winning hockey. Avs goalies have been superb for the last two months and that's the main reason they still have a chance here.

This is spot on.

Just using the game last night as an example, the difference in puck skill between Dallas and Colorado was night and day. All the players on Dallas were making nice crisp passes, making defenders miss, not trying to do too much, and just generally moving the puck well to each other. Colorado on the other hand struggled to make more than 1 or 2 passes in a row, everybody was trying to be a hero and weave their way through 3 defenders which resulted in turnovers, lots of fumbled pucks etc.

The fundamentals and puck skill levels just looked infinitely higher for Dallas. Our depth is better this year than the past couple, but to me the last 4-5 games prove once again that we are just not skilled enough throughout the roster to compete with good teams. Players like Mitchell and McCleod are good players in the right role but neither should be playing more than 8 mintues a night on the 4th line, but McCleod played over 10 minutes, Mitchell over 16 minutes. Martinsen shouldn't even be in the NHL and he played 10 minutes last night.

How does freaking John Mitchell play more minutes than Nathan MacKinnon and the same as Duchene? This would never happen in Chicago, They wouldn't have a role player playing the same amount as Patrick Kane. This is just poor coaching. It's absolutely disgusting that MacKinnon and Duchene aren't consistently playing 20+mins a game. You ride your best players, even if they aren't having their best game because you hope that they have one or two moments that lead to big plays.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I'm glad we got a point, but I knew we were going to lose then Roy started his "shutdown" line of McLeod-Mitchell-Skille against Dallas' big line to start the game. Not sure how that was ever going to work.

Pickard played well. Dallas should have had, like, 6 goals last night.

Also, Demers is such an annoying *****. Hate his face.

 

[The Kingslayer]

There is also the fact of how damn close we were in terms of score for both of the games against Dallas and Chicago. If the team had played just a little bit better they would have won both of those games with how good our goal-tending has been.

Just can't get that out of my head, that we left those three points on the board.

I just dont understand how we cant elevate our level of play when the other team leans on us. We **** our pants when the other team forechecks hard. If you get pushed then push back especially at home. You cant have teams come into your house eat your Froot Loops, grab your wifes ass and invite them back to do it again the next day. We gotta make it hard on teams to play in Denver. Landeskog did his damn best of that its too bad the rest of his teammates just didnt care half as much.

 

[henchman21]

So... we don't have any depth, we have horrendous coaching, and our good players suck. Amazing the Avs have more than 10 wins all season.

I've been saying it a while... this team isn't deep and the fact that we are competing for a spot is a good thing and a testiment. Mitchell can work as a 3rd line center if he is surrounded by good linemates, but McLeod and Skille shouldn't play more than 8 minutes a game. Problem is, there isn't other options... Marty shouldn't play every night. Iggy has 1 good game in 5... Tangs is lucky to have that. Grigo needs more ice time, but he isn't what I would call a savior. Holden plays too much, but has been alright considering his role. Beauch plays way too much, but we don't have better options to eat top pairing minutes. etc.

This team only has 4 top 6 forwards and 3 top 4 defensemen. That isn't a recipe for success and the team obviously knows it. The holes are being patched up until the kids can be ready to take on bigger roles. The don't want to rush the development so much that it hurts the kids in the long run. The Avs don't also have the assets to patch the holes properly until they are ready. So stretches where water the fills the boat and the bailer can't keep up are going to happen. It is about minimizing them until the kids are able to help.

A point of desperation on the top line, bottom 6, and defense is going to (or has) come. They will probably give some kids bigger roles (Grigo, Rantanen, Bigras, and maybe Zadorov) and they probably make a trade or two as well to help shore up the depth.

IMO making a move for a RD to ease the burden on the other pairings would be a wise thing to do. Giving Grigo a shot on the top line and then Rantanen on the Landy-Soda line would also be a step forward. Then trying a ____-Mitchell-Comeau line as a 3rd to see if a move is needed there. I'd also swap Everberg and Marty... Marty is useless and Everberg may not be.

 

[chet1926]

I just dont understand how we cant elevate our level of play when the other team leans on us. We **** our pants when the other team forechecks hard. If you get pushed then push back especially at home. You cant have teams come into your house eat your Froot Loops, grab your wifes ass and invite them back to do it again the next day. We gotta make it hard on teams to play in Denver. Landeskog did his damn best of that its too bad the rest of his teammates just didnt care half as much.

Exactly, protect your house. Enforce your will upon the other team. We already have an advantage playing at altitude. We should be skating circles around the other team. No one should like to come play here. Right now it's just another place to play.

 

[IceRat]

Exactly, protect your house. Enforce your will upon the other team. We already have an advantage playing at altitude. We should be skating circles around the other team. No one should like to come play here. Right now it's just another place to play.

well except for when they play the Blackhawks and it's an away game for us at the Can

 

[Foppa2118]

I'm not saying they didn't play poorly, but it leaves a lot out of context. Teams really do go through bad stretches... they happen every season. In this bad stretch the team is still finding a way to get points and it was against the hottest team in the conference (San Jose), two best teams (Chicago and LA), and a team that is close to being in the top tier of the conference (Dallas). That was a tough 5 game stretch for any team, let alone one that has some holes.

The next 5 games are the Jets, Canucks, Senators, Red Wings, and Sabres... a hell of a lot different that the last 5 game stretch. They look this bad against those teams, then this reaction is warranted.

Teams also go through bad stretches, and then let it snowball, and never regain their form, which causes them to fall out of the playoffs. They have to make sure this isn't that. That's why Roy has had a much different tone post All Star break. He wants to have a sense of urgency so they stop the bleeding.

All these games in hand make it very deceiving. They could actually be in 10th instead of 7th right now.

 

[chet1926]

well except for when they play the Blackhawks and it's an away game for us at the Can

Very true, that's another very disturbing trend I'm noticing at the Can. Lots of fans from other teams. Even last night there were a ton of Dallas fans.

 

[henchman21]

Teams also go through bad stretches, and then let it snowball, and never regain their form, which causes them to fall out of the playoffs. They have to make sure this isn't that. That's why Roy has had a much different tone post All Star break. He wants to have a sense of urgency so they stop the bleeding.

All these games in hand make it very deceiving. They could actually be in 10th instead of 7th right now.

That is up to the coaching and team... they now have a track record of getting their crap together.

All these teams around the Avs are hovering a touch over .500 points wise. 2 games in hand probably means 2-3 points. 3 games means 3-4 points realistically. Colorado, Nashville, and Minny are virtually tied. Arizona could be argued there, but I don't see them as a threat (same with Vancouver). Out of Colorado, Nashville, and Minny... two spots will be decided. People would be hard pressed to argue that over the past two months or even past two weeks that Colorado hasn't looked better than both of those teams.

 

[Foppa2118]

That is up to the coaching and team... they now have a track record of getting their crap together.

All these teams around the Avs are hovering a touch over .500 points wise. 2 games in hand probably means 2-3 points. 3 games means 3-4 points realistically. Colorado, Nashville, and Minny are virtually tied. Arizona could be argued there, but I don't see them as a threat (same with Vancouver). Out of Colorado, Nashville, and Minny... two spots will be decided. People would be hard pressed to argue that over the past two months or even past two weeks that Colorado hasn't looked better than both of those teams.

In the end, how they've looked the last couple months doesn't really matter. It's all what they do from here on out.

The difference between making and missing the playoffs with all these teams so close, and the Avs games in hand, is razor thin. One or two points will be the difference in the end.

That's why the sense of urgency. They can't afford to leave points on the table, or let a mini slump last too long.

 

[LazRNN]

Rantanen wouldn't be a miracle worker, but he could be a spark may be all the team needs. People have short term memories when it comes to sports and it's hard to remember when they are playing this poorly that not long ago, they were playing pretty well. But there's every possibility they can play well again.

When Zadorov and Bigras were up, I don't think you can make a great argument that the 1.0 GAA was because they are both stout, shut down defensemen. But you can probably attribute it to an intangible chemistry or dynamic the team had with them. There could be a similar affect with Rantanen in the lineup and Roy and Sakic need to turn over this stone before they try anything else (I'm pretty sure Roy has more or less tried every stone available from the present active roster).

 

[RoyIsALegend]

MacKinnon has been really bad the last 2 months. Mitchell has been non-existent for almost the same amount of time. Wagner/Grigorenko rotated on the 4th line hasn't added much.

We're in a playoff stretch and literally have 1 centerman producing and playing well; Soderberg. That just will not get it done. Too important of a position in terms of dictating a game for us to have 3 passengers down the middle at this point.