Post-Game Talk: Prelude to a Rental: The Aftermath of the Stadium Series Debacle

[freeboy]

Yup, absolutely. On that subject, JR should be shot to the moon.

Definitely scripted

 

[Avs71]

Did they play terrible last night? This place seems extra depressing to read today.

 

[Freudian]

Did they play terrible last night? This place seems extra depressing to read today.

We've seen them stop playing in the third period all year and it's just getting worse. They just can't play with a lead, which means they are a bad hockey team.

They played a great first period and stopped trying to play. Low intensity and just giving the puck away for 20 minutes straight. It's really annoying.

They got what they deserved last night.

 

[BK Avs]

I'm pretty upset about last night's epic late game collapse, but man, the negativity in this thread is pretty nuts. It was a really beautiful, fun weekend to watch from afar, from the Battle on Blake to the Alumni game to the first 59 minutes of the main game. And even that last minute was entertaining for any non-Avs fans watching. The city and organization did a good job.

That said, I am pissed as hell that we lost. This game could've been a catalyst to push us into the playoffs. Would've been a big win on the national stage, putting separation between us and Minnesota, and giving us the opportunity to plunge the dagger into their hearts on Tuesday. But instead we found a way to lose like we did at the beginning of the season. UGH

 

[ABasin]

I had a great time, even if they lost. Sorry that you weren't able to experience it.

Ditto. I had a blast, both nights.

 

[Avs71]

We've seen them stop playing in the third period all year and it's just getting worse. They just can't play with a lead, which means they are a bad hockey team.

They played a great first period and stopped trying to play. Low intensity and just giving the puck away for 20 minutes straight. It's really annoying.

They got what they deserved last night.

Thanks for the recap. About what I expected. Unfortunate. I don't see anything changing this year (obviously).

Best case scenario for the rest of the season is the Avs winning just enough games to slip into that last Wild card spot. Then they'll play either Dallas or Chicago, both of whom they have played well against (Varly), and then see what happens from there. Playoff experience+the highest pick they can get while making it.

Not sure what'll change in the summer though to prevent this from happening all next year. There won't be a huge turnover of the roster, or any sort of coaching changes. Pretty much have to hope that an influx of Bigras playing full time, Zadorov, and Rantanen will be enough of a talent add to carry out Roy's game plan.

 

[AslanRH]

I don't think we can compare throwball to hockey, the Stupid Bowl is extremely easy to win, especially if you're a good team.
[snip]

For those who know my NFL loyalties they will understand, but I would disagree with you for most of your post.

There is no professional league that I am aware of that has the parity of the NFL. The Patriots don't win because they are a good team, they win because they have a elite management, a supremely intelligent coach, and have one of the greatest players at the most important position who they drafted in the 6th round.

Then there are teams with poor manage who draft in the top 5 or top 10 routinely who can't find their way .500 record.

I do agree that the Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports, but not because it is harder to build a winning team, but because of the path to take to get there allows for many more possible circumstances to lose it.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

Do you really need be a jerk when you are talking about the Broncos and/or Football?

Stinks that the Avs lost tonight but it was still a fantastic weekend here in town. I had a total blast.

He's just jealous that American football is a thousand times more entertaining than watching that boring crap they call football where 90% of the time it's just pointless running and kicking a ball back and forth as if you were playing catch in the back yard.

 

[StayAtHomeAv]

That is not the point these posters are trying to make.
It's not losing.
It's losing in a pathetic fashion in front of 50k fans, and gives the casuals fans a lot of reasons not to come to the can. That again leads to away fans continuing being louder than home fans at the Pepsi Center and half-filled arenas.
This was the opportune moment to show Coloradans to come and watch and cheer for the playoff push. And the team gave us, well, that pile of dung.

I'm fine, and most here are fine if they lose, but show urgency, passion and will to win.
To lose like that is completely unacceptable. Especially after that good 1st period.

If anything from that game is going to turn off the casual fan it would be those crappy camera angles.

 

[flyfysher]

Fooled me with your avatar lmao!

Yes, I think the good has outweighed the bad by a longshot. Do they have bad moves? Yes, every GM swings and misses. But Roykics hits have been much better than their misses. Beauch is great, Soda is great, Comeau does his job, Matthias looks like he fits on that line (too early to judge), Gormley is good D depth, especially since Elliot was going nowhere in this organization. Let's not even mention Grigs, Zads and Compher. ALL of which look to contribute sooner rather than later if not contributing already.

Berra was a 50/50. Sometimes you gotta take that risk, and it's great Pickard overtook him. Stuart was bad. They learned from that. Iggy was again, 50/50, guy scored 29 goals last year and the guy is on pace for what, 25 or so this year? For a team that struggles scoring goals, that's huge.

Tanguay for Jones? Can't really believe anyone is gonna complain about that. SOB? lol. Not even gonna touch on that.

The only real issues that I've had with the Avs' vet signings has been with length of term and then dollars. Namely, Stuart, Iginla and Tanguay. Beauchemin was an exception in that the Avs needed a capable top 2 d-man. One could make the same argument about Stuart but that was a failure to properly evaluate and assess his remaining playing ability and skills.

On a side note, I was also disappointed the Avs lost but far more so by the boo birds that came out afterwards. Yes this one stung but the criticism and hysteria was just over the top.

It was still a fun time at this game as well.

 

[RockLobster]

Fooled me with your avatar lmao!

Yes, I think the good has outweighed the bad by a longshot. Do they have bad moves? Yes, every GM swings and misses. But Roykics hits have been much better than their misses. Beauch is great, Soda is great, Comeau does his job, Matthias looks like he fits on that line (too early to judge), Gormley is good D depth, especially since Elliot was going nowhere in this organization. Let's not even mention Grigs, Zads and Compher. ALL of which look to contribute sooner rather than later if not contributing already.

Berra was a 50/50. Sometimes you gotta take that risk, and it's great Pickard overtook him. Stuart was bad. They learned from that. Iggy was again, 50/50, guy scored 29 goals last year and the guy is on pace for what, 25 or so this year? For a team that struggles scoring goals, that's huge.

Tanguay for Jones? Can't really believe anyone is gonna complain about that. SOB? lol. Not even gonna touch on that.

Berra was a little more than "50/50" (against), in my book. I mean, I understand the reasoning for acquiring him--they had no idea if Giguere's back was going to hold up or not, and they did not want to rely on a Calvin Pickard who had not played in the NHL before. The argument "grows" in the Avs' favor when you look at two things: 1) Berra was supposedly not the "first choice", that was Scrivens (and boy, look how south that went); 2) Calgary wasn't looking to trade Berra at all, so they held more leverage.

The thing that work against Berra is something that look good in hindsight. Pickard looks better at the NHL level than Berra (though Reto did have some solid games at the start of this season). Stuart was bad, though I think they did learn their lesson with him. It appears they thought he had more in the tank, and I still don't believe he was "horribad" last season, so long as he was on the 3rd pairing (I mean, I'd take him in a heartbeat over the Bodnarchuk/Guenin/Redmond rotation that was going on). You're right though, every Management group has bad deals, deals that they'd like to "have back". At least it seems like they're learning from some of them

 

[CobraAcesS]

So who is looking forward to Varly playing in another pressure packed situation against Minnesota?

I love Varly, but that might be the last straw if he craps the bed in that game.

 

[ArWKo]

We all knew before this game that this is a team with some pretty big holes to fill, and they're still a team with big holes to fill.

This was another loss where they honestly did not play that badly and got sunk by a bad night from Varly and at least one ridiculous bounce that went Detroit's way.

As far as the whole experience itself - it was probably the greatest live hockey experience I've ever had, it was so cool, so much fun, such a great atmosphere and losing the game did not change those facts at all. This was an experience where there was so much more than just a W or a L. Of course a win would have been even better, but that was not what this experience was about for me.

I think anytime a game is this large in its pageantry and exposure nationally I understand why it can amplify some of the angst people already have over their team (and we all know there is plenty of that to go around) but it's not like this team is in any worse shape than they were before the game yesterday other than missing on 2 points they really needed.

Now we wait and see if they really want to make a playoff push and bring in anyone else they think can help them do that, or if they're happy to roll with what they have now knowing what most of us already know - this team this year has always been a borderline playoff team where getting in was the goal but missing would not have been a total disaster and they were honestly expected to miss by probably a plurality of folks who aren't Avs fan/Colorado media.

 

[Parks]

I was able to make it to last nights game. Even though the end result was a huge disappointment, it was a fun event and great experience.

I thought they played well early. Penalties really killed their rhythm. McCleod should just play without a stick. It wouldn't change his game at all. His stick only gets penalties. He can't shoot, pass, or stick handle so if Roy wants him out there he should just send him out without a stick to run around hitting.

They also seemed very sloppy in the neutral zone. They failed to get the puck in deep and had turnovers that kept them from getting into the offensive zone to set up their attack. When the puck actually made it into the zone the forecheck and offensive pressure seemed decent.

Obviously Varly didn't have a strong performance. I haven't had a chance to rewatch the TV broadcast but most of those goals seemed fairly weak.

I would like to see them make a move before the deadline but I hope they don't have a knee-jerk reaction and pick up a rental. Buying rentals=bad , selling rentals= good.

 

[InjuredChoker]

So who is looking forward to Varly playing in another pressure packed situation against Minnesota?

I love Varly, but that might be the last straw if he craps the bed in that game.

last straw in terms of what?

 

[ASmileyFace]

I had a great time, even if they lost. Sorry that you weren't able to experience it.

After a full night of sleep... I completely agree. That was a hell of a lot of fun right up until the last minute. It's easy to be full of kneejerk reactions whenever we lose in heartbreaking fashion but I am glad I was able to attend such a fun event.

I even was able to steal a little bit of the "snow"

 

[RockLobster]

So who is looking forward to Varly playing in another pressure packed situation against Minnesota?

I love Varly, but that might be the last straw if he craps the bed in that game.

I wouldn't call some exceptionally unfortunate bounces going against him to be "crapping the bed". I'm sure there are some he'd like to have back. To me, the truth is this: with as many games as Varlamov has stolen for the Avs (and has the ability to steal in the future), there HAS to be some games where the rest of the team looks at him and says, "Hey, we see that it's not going great tonight, we'll get you." Sometimes the rest of the team has to steal a game for Varly.

 

[CobraAcesS]

last straw in terms of what?

Me personally having any trust in him as our starter now and in the future.

 

[CobraAcesS]

I wouldn't call some exceptionally unfortunate bounces going against him to be "crapping the bed". I'm sure there are some he'd like to have back. To me, the truth is this: with as many games as Varlamov has stolen for the Avs (and has the ability to steal in the future), there HAS to be some games where the rest of the team looks at him and says, "Hey, we see that it's not going great tonight, we'll get you." Sometimes the rest of the team has to steal a game for Varly.

That happens with our other goalies more though, Berra has definitely had the team save his bacon a few times.

I think in those situations it's more the timing of the saves than purely the amount of goals they let in.

I mean it being 4-3 with 10 or 15 minutes left in the third period is way different than 1 minute left.

We've just got a long history of getting scored on in the later parts of the second and third periods.

Edit : It's weird with Berra and Pickard, you seem to be able to tell from the first period if they are going to have a bad game or not. Usually if they are going to play well (especially Pickard) it continues all the way through the game. Varly seems to have games inside of games far to often. One minute hes saving our ass, and the next we have all the momentum and hes letting in a soft goal at a weird time.

 

[RockLobster]

That happens with our other goalies more though, Berra has definitely had the team save his bacon a few times.

I think in those situations it's more the timing of the saves than purely the amount of goals they let in.

I mean it being 4-3 with 10 or 15 minutes left in the third period is way different than 1 minute left.

We've just got a long history of getting scored on in the later parts of the second and third periods.

Edit : It's weird with Berra and Pickard, you seem to be able to tell from the first period if they are going to have a bad game or not. Usually if they are going to play well (especially Pickard) it continues all the way through the game. Varly seems to have games inside of games far to often. One minute hes saving our ass, and the next we have all the momentum and hes letting in a soft goal at a weird time.

If you're really going to lay the 4th goal at his feet, then I don't know what to say. It was some porous defense being played by the Avs, and the puck hopped up and floated over him. It was pretty much the epitome of a "fluke goal". Was it something Varly would like to have back? Yeah. Was it something that he should have saved? Sure. But that's ALL fluke goals, they tend to be ones that are easily savable, but somehow find an unfortunate bounce to get past the goalie.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

Weird **** happens in NHL games all the time (it's kinda what makes it so fun)


It's like if in football they just used a round ball, where's the fun in that? The egg shape makes every single bounce unpredictable, which is so fun

 

[CobraAcesS]

If you're really going to lay the 4th goal at his feet, then I don't know what to say. It was some porous defense being played by the Avs, and the puck hopped up and floated over him. It was pretty much the epitome of a "fluke goal". Was it something Varly would like to have back? Yeah. Was it something that he should have saved? Sure. But that's ALL fluke goals, they tend to be ones that are easily savable, but somehow find an unfortunate bounce to get past the goalie.

Yeah and the best goalies more often than not find a way to not allow a fluke goal in the final minutes of a period, fluke goals just happen far to often with him when hes not on fire. He seems to be really hot or cold at all times.

I'm not laying it all on him either, as we've all beat the horse that is our defense quite enough. Really the goals allowed are cumulative, as that late goal would not have been as much of an issue if he also stopped some of the others he absolutely should have. That night I told my wife the post Landeskog hit would come back to bite us most likely as well. So it's not all on him.

I just wish Varly would give us good games without having to absolutely be on fire saving our ass.

Kind of like Pickard did the other night, and does a lot of nights. We still win games when he lets in three goals. It feels like when Varly lets in three or four goals those last ones are at really bad times.

That's just what it feels like to me, I'm not ripping through stats here.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Me personally having any trust in him as our starter now and in the future.

Full faith in Pickard though
Get Varlamov away from this team and send him where he'd be appreciated. Maybe this fan base needs another decade of garbage in net.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Full faith in Pickard though
Get Varlamov away from this team and send him where he'd be appreciated. Maybe this fan base needs another decade of garbage in net.

Don't put words in my mouth GTG

Being frustrated with Varly's inconsistency in some situations is a legit discussion.

 

[RockLobster]

Yeah and the best goalies more often than not find a way to not allow a fluke goal in the final minutes of a period, fluke goals just happen far to often with him when hes not on fire. He seems to be really hot or cold at all times.

I'm not laying it all on him either, as we've all beat the horse that is our defense quite enough. Really the goals allowed are cumulative, as that late goal would not have been as much of an issue if he also stopped some of the others he absolutely should have. That night I told my wife the post Landeskog hit would come back to bite us most likely as well. So it's not all on him.

I just wish Varly would give us good games without having to absolutely be on fire saving our ass.

Kind of like Pickard did the other night, and does a lot of nights. We still win games when he lets in three goals. It feels like when Varly lets in three or four goals those last ones are at really bad times.

That's just what it feels like to me, I'm not ripping through stats here.

Yeah, you may not be "ripping through stats", but you're sure as hell exaggerating a lot here.

You can't statistically say "the best goalies save fluke goals more often than not", because there's no way to prove that. I mean, as an Avs fan, we were treated (too much) to replays of Roy's "Statue of Liberty" gaffe, that resulted in what I'd call a "fluke goal" for the RW in that series. And that was the best (or "most clutch") goalie to ever play in the NHL (my opinion).

The point is THEY HAPPEN. Yet you're going beyond to make it seem like it happens to Varlamov exponentially more than any other goaltender.

I'm pissed off at the result last night too, but I'm not the one making statements like you are. You're not just questioning Varlamov, you're basically ignoring all the good he's done for this team (including this season), and it seems shortsighted.