GDT: GAME XIX: Snow vs. Oil

Mighty Makar

I hate this fu*ken team
May 24, 2016
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Bender

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Sep 25, 2002
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Nobody is saying Zack Kassian is supposed to be scared of Zadorov.

What we are saying, is that if Zack Kassian makes that hit on MacKinnon a minute into the game with Zadorov in our lineup (and not nursing a broken jaw to boot), there's a very, very strong possibility that one of McDavid/Draisaitl are going to get run right back by him.

The Avs did nothing last night to retaliate. Even Calvert's little hug fest with Kassian. We simply didn't have the type of player that could respond to being roughed around last night. Zadorov changes all of that.

This 100%. It's not about the Avs getting revenge on Kassian or that he should be afraid of such retribution, it's more that McDavid should be afraid that he's going to be next to eat a big hit, if they want to play it like that.

For me, I just want a guy that hits. Not a dirty hitter but a guy that lays big hits, nightly. Marcus Foligno has 69 hits (8th in the league) whereas the top forward in hits on the Avs is Kadri at 28. Zadorov is leading our team with only 39.

Luckily for us, I think it would be surprising if Sakic left things as they are. He lived it. He knows that having a guy like Scott Parker in the lineup even playing limited minutes keeps teams from taking liberties on our star players much like the way Kassian did last night. To me, that was very obviously game-planned. They wanted to take #29 off his game as he is the engine that will make or break the Avs - since we've got SIX regulars out of the lineup.

It was 'smart-ish' by them to get 2 points but if McDavid gets his ass SMOKED by a fair hit as he's racing up the ice - only a week and half from now - when we face them again in DENVER on November 29th, then those 2 points will seem pretty insignificant.
 

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
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Nobody is saying Zack Kassian is supposed to be scared of Zadorov.

What we are saying, is that if Zack Kassian makes that hit on MacKinnon a minute into the game with Zadorov in our lineup (and not nursing a broken jaw to boot), there's a very, very strong possibility that one of McDavid/Draisaitl are going to get run right back by him.

The Avs did nothing last night to retaliate. Even Calvert's little hug fest with Kassian. We simply didn't have the type of player that could respond to being roughed around last night. Zadorov changes all of that.
I don’t understand. What does that do for the Avalanche?

look I’m the biggest advocate on here of what Zadorov brings. People are terrified on the ice and avoid matching up against him. It’s a big benefit even if the guy doesn’t have a clue how to play hockey. But Kassian isn’t scared of him and Zadorov being in the lineup changes nothing. How does Zadorov going around head hunting Mcdavid after that hit accomplish anything for Colorado? Hope he hurts him or something? That would be terrible.

Mackinnon got steam rolled on his button hook and that was going to happen regardless of who else was in Colorado’s lineup. Following that hit, Calvert drops the gloves and gets rag dolled but still the entire Avs bench goes nuts out of respect and they score the next shift. Even though Calvert had a “hug fest” as you called it. He sparked the team enough to score on the next shift.

Zadorov brings a presence no doubt, but him being in the lineup doesn’t change what Kassian did last night.
 

Ceremony

blahem
Jun 8, 2012
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I would have come off the bench and gone after Kassian when he did his Superman leap at Compher when they were 5-1 up

Rodent
 

AvsMakar08

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I would have come off the bench and gone after Kassian when he did his Superman leap at Compher when they were 5-1 up

Rodent

Yeah, that was actually lucky for Compher. Kassian left his feet in the air and could have knocked Compher strong in the the glass. The other teams knows this. All they have to do is to hit Mackinnon a few times to get him off of his game. Besides Z, we don't really have anyone who can hit and fight.
 

forsbergavs32

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Jan 21, 2011
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I don’t want someone on the team that head hunts or anything but I do think we need another physical presence up front as the Avs are just way too soft, especially with Z and Lando out. The biggest thing last night was Edmonton set the tone early and the Avs had no response. It’s also not helpful that Mack falls off once he gets played physical.
 

Avs_19

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Jun 28, 2007
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I don’t want someone on the team that head hunts or anything but I do think we need another physical presence up front as the Avs are just way too soft, especially with Z and Lando out. The biggest thing last night was Edmonton set the tone early and the Avs had no response. It’s also not helpful that Mack falls off once he gets played physical.

The Avs responded by first fighting Kassian and then immediately scoring a goal to make it 1-0. As for MacKinnon, we only have to go back a few days to see what happened when another team tried to be physical with him and get under his skin. First he let their bench know what's on his mind and then he went on to have a four point game.

Could they be tougher? Sure. I don't think that's too much of a factor in their wins/losses though. If anything, I think they could use another puck mover on defense rather than someone who might be considered tougher and harder to forecheck.
 

dahrougem2

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Dec 9, 2011
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I don’t understand. What does that do for the Avalanche?

look I’m the biggest advocate on here of what Zadorov brings. People are terrified on the ice and avoid matching up against him. It’s a big benefit even if the guy doesn’t have a clue how to play hockey. But Kassian isn’t scared of him and Zadorov being in the lineup changes nothing. How does Zadorov going around head hunting Mcdavid after that hit accomplish anything for Colorado? Hope he hurts him or something? That would be terrible.

Mackinnon got steam rolled on his button hook and that was going to happen regardless of who else was in Colorado’s lineup. Following that hit, Calvert drops the gloves and gets rag dolled but still the entire Avs bench goes nuts out of respect and they score the next shift. Even though Calvert had a “hug fest” as you called it. He sparked the team enough to score on the next shift.

Zadorov brings a presence no doubt, but him being in the lineup doesn’t change what Kassian did last night.
Again, nobody is saying anything about Kassian being scared of Zadorov, nor head hunting.

Zadorov keeps players honest. If Kassian wanted to make it his mission to target MacKinnon yesterday with huge hits, you know that Zadorov was going to make it his mission to target the Oilers' best players and make it extremely difficult on them. Z isn't a dirty player, nobody is saying he should run them from behind or aim for their heads. But we are saying that Zadorov is a deterrent, and a damn good one at that.

I don't think you'll agree, and that's fine. But I 100% believe Zadorov changes the way players play this game and take runs at our better players. The Avalanche had nothing last night. Nobody wanted anything to do with physical play. Z changes that.
 

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
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I’m with you guys. I’d love to add more physicality. Think it’ll be important down the stretch and especially in the playoffs.

all I’m saying is that having Zadorov in our lineup doesn’t change what Kassian did last night even a little bit.
 

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
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Again, nobody is saying anything about Kassian being scared of Zadorov, nor head hunting.

Zadorov keeps players honest. If Kassian wanted to make it his mission to target MacKinnon yesterday with huge hits, you know that Zadorov was going to make it his mission to target the Oilers' best players and make it extremely difficult on them. Z isn't a dirty player, nobody is saying he should run them from behind or aim for their heads. But we are saying that Zadorov is a deterrent, and a damn good one at that.

I don't think you'll agree, and that's fine. But I 100% believe Zadorov changes the way players play this game and take runs at our better players. The Avalanche had nothing last night. Nobody wanted anything to do with physical play. Z changes that.
Bud read my post history about Zadorov. I preach the exact same sentiment as you. All I’m saying is that having Zadorov last night doesn’t change what Kassian did to us.

overall his impact is important. I preach it every single week.
 
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forsbergavs32

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The Avs responded by first fighting Kassian and then immediately scoring a goal to make it 1-0. As for MacKinnon, we only have to go back a few days to see what happened when another team tried to be physical with him and get under his skin. First he let their bench know what's on his mind and then he went on to have a four point game.

Could they be tougher? Sure. I don't think that's too much of a factor in their wins/losses though. If anything, I think they could use another puck mover on defense rather than someone who might be considered tougher and harder to forecheck.

But then last night it happened and he disappeared and was laughing it up with McDavid after he scored a hat trick. I’d like to see him consistently try to take over a game, but at this point we don’t know what Mack we’re gonna get when things get tough. I doubt Sakic and Forsberg would have been giggling with Mike Modano or Steve Yzerman in a situation like that. Unfortunately this has been an issue with the Avs for years now when things get tough.

I do agree about the D though, having Cole, Graves, Barberio and EJ our there isn’t doing us any good.
 

Northern Avs Fan

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May 27, 2019
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Are EDM fans really getting braggy about beating up on Adam Werner and outplaying our preseason roster? Lol. See you next time.

They’re really trying to flex on us?
Whatever. I’m still a huge believer in this team. When healthy I’ll take our roster over EDM’s every day of the week.
I’d love to see that matchup in the playoffs too.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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Thoughts:

1. That Kassian hit was not the result of lack of toughness on the Avs' part--it's because MacKinnon relies on that move WAY too much and Kassian took full advantage. Dude was MVP caliber the one year he finally ditched it and just tried powering/speeding his way to the net. He really needs to do that again. That move is really tired, the coaches should be trying to get him to stop using it, or at the VERY least, go deeper in the zone before slamming on the brakes.

2. The PK is bad and has been bad for years now. The only reason it got good in the 2nd half of last season is because the goaltending improved significantly. The system in front is still utter ****. They've gone from semi-passive to VERY passive and it's just not acceptable. They need to figure that out, because it's ridiculous that they've added a whole slew of very good defensive-minded forwards and it actually looks WORSE than it did last season.

3. First time I think I can remember that Jared Bednar said something kinda dumb. Claiming the only reason they take so many penalties is because they draw so many is inane, and mostly inaccurate. They take penalties, and far, far too many of the dumb variety. AND FOR FFS QUIT COMMITTING TOO MANY MEN INFRACTIONS.

4. Werner unfortunately looked every bit like a guy playing his 2nd-ever NHL game. Oh well.

5. I'm just gonna say it--haven't liked the play of EJ for a while now. Once again, even on a deeper, more talented blueline, he's getting way overworked. Cole was pretty awful last night too.

Rough outing...it's gonna happen when you can't kill penalties and the best player on the planet is in a groove. Moving on...


Actually... This was very intelligent of him to say and was a great sublte shot at the referees.


He's saying the Avs get called for some weak penalties but because we do such a good job drawing as many as we do with our speed game, the refs in turn have to call a lot on the Avs to keep the "balance" which should be complete BS but unfortunately it is not. Bednar is taking a shot at that balance BS and the refs calling the Avs for soft penalties.


It's actually a 200 IQ play for him to take a shot a the refs without coming out and saying it.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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Who? I need to see this.

Just go read the Oilers Post-Game thread(Which they actually posted after the game and not before.... Strange concept that I disagree with completely but anyway) or the GDT itself. Lots of guys going on about how "We just beat a good Colorado team... Obviously we are a good team" and all that stuff.


So I guess its a compliment to us that they think we're a good team right now with almost half the lineup at AHL caliber at this point.
 

Bender

Registered User
Sep 25, 2002
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Graves had the puck too much last night

He was really, really awful last night. He's had a few good nights but he's been subpar for the most part. Reminds me of Holden a lot in that he can look good at times but he's mostly a #7 who can fill-in as a #6 at times.

Our problems on D stems from the fact that Girard hasn't been as good the last 5-10 games or so and has fallen off. Whether that's trying to do too much or whatever, he hasn't been his normal self. Combine that with EJ seemingly struggling, we've only got Makar right now that's playing well.

Hopefully once we get some healthy bodies back in the lineup, we start to look better.
 

Pokecheque

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He was really, really awful last night. He's had a few good nights but he's been subpar for the most part. Reminds me of Holden a lot in that he can look good at times but he's mostly a #7 who can fill-in as a #6 at times.

Our problems on D stems from the fact that Girard hasn't been as good the last 5-10 games or so and has fallen off. Whether that's trying to do too much or whatever, he hasn't been his normal self. Combine that with EJ seemingly struggling, we've only got Makar right now that's playing well.

Hopefully once we get some healthy bodies back in the lineup, we start to look better.

It happened last year--that G/EJ pairing ran aground then too. It didn't work then, not quite sure why they're trying to make it work now. Unfortunately I'm not sure Graves/EJ is a good idea either.
 

S E P H

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Just so you guys know, Zack Kassian is not scared of Zadorov. Like not even slightly. I’d bet it’s the other way around.
This is true, but taking runs at MacKinnon opens the gate at Zadorov taking runs at McDavid/Draisaitl. Not that I like an eye for an eye mentality, but it's more about policing the game for me,
 

Avs9296

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Jul 1, 2019
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I'd like them to go back to Zads-EJ like the good old days. G-EJ doesn't really work for some reason even though you'd think it should.

G-Makar
Zad-EJ
Graves-Cole

Play the top 4 more

Or

Zad-EJ
G-Cole
Graves-Makar

With more equal time.
 

CobraAcesS

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I'd like them to go back to Zads-EJ like the good old days. G-EJ doesn't really work for some reason even though you'd think it should.

G-Makar
Zad-EJ
Graves-Cole

Play the top 4 more

Or

Zad-EJ
G-Cole
Graves-Makar

With more equal time.

Still think Makar should be tried with EJ.

Just use your two best together. Cole, Graves, Z, all absolutely wilt when asked to play that high up the lineup.

Just use G or Makar there depending on who is playing best.
 

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