A night to sleep off that loss and it still stings. My lengthy reaction to the last game of the year.
Joe Thornton must have made a deal with the devil after Pavelski got injured. After getting gifted the major that helped them come back in game 7 against the Knights, they get Pavelski back for this game 7 so he can score a big goal, MacKInnon takes himself out early in the first period and is a shell of himself after, and the refs rob the tying goal from the Avs. Can’t ask for much more than that.
Still there were obviously other things that led to this loss.
Everyone was a bundle of nerves, and playing really sloppy, reactionary hockey for the first half of the game. Just overwhelmed by the moment of game 7. You could see it in the locker room shots before the game too. Very quiet room, no happy faces, looking down at the floor. They looked the same way in their game 3 loss when they were waiting to come out on home ice for the first time in the series, and didn't look ready to playa at all. Definitely showing their experience level in some of these pressure packed games.
The defense has been the Achilles heel of this team for a long time. They’ve finally build their best D core in 15 years, but they were not good tonight, and that’s a big part of why they lost. EJ and Barrie both lost their man who ended up scoring on the first two goals, and Zadorov’s terrible backhand clear led to the third.
Grubby played great for the most part, but I didn’t like that back breaking 3rd goal. Came off his angle and left too much room for Donskoi to hit short side. It ended up being a gut punch too, robbing the team of any momentum.
Soda was terrible again. No idea if that hit early in the playoffs did something to him, but he was a complete contrast to the hard working, highly effective in all three zones Soderberg we saw in the second half of the season.
Brassard was one of the few bright spots tonight. I started laughing when they said his nickname was "big game brass" back in the day, but he came to play tonight. Didn't provide enough in his tenure, but good of him to give it his all in game 7.
Bednar has done some great coaching at the end of this year, but he deserves some heat for this as well. He’s just way too stubborn with his personnel decisions.
Jost was one of the few guys going all game. Comes up with another huge clutch goal to make it a three game goal streak but finishes with only 11:56 in ice time, and only 11 seconds in the final 7:17. That’s just a terrible decision. Do you want goals or not? How the hell do you keep the hot hand on the bench for nearly the entire final 7 minutes?
Meanwhile Kerfoot finishes with 16:45 and has 3:33 in the final 7 minutes. He was 0-4 on draws at the end of the game, but Bednar decides to put him out for multiple huge faceoffs at the end of the game, and watch him fire the puck three times into Jones pads on one of their best chances to tie the game. Decent chance Jost has the poise and hands to take a step back, roll his wrists, and chip that puck over the pad on one of the attempts.
PP was another poor personal decision from Bednar. Bennett works the tactics and deserve some heat, but Bednar makes the final decisions, especially regarding the lineups. Avs were 0 for 9 in their last two games, 1 for 20 in six games, and 2 for 23 in the series. Yet he rode the top unit into the ground, even with MacKinnon and Mikko shells of their formers selves. Should have been a no brainer to put Jost in for Wilson in the slot and give Makar some more looks to make a play. The current group just wasn't working. They basically kept the top unit out until the final 20 seconds of each PP.
Avs just got away from their physicality in this one too. They were on their heels for most of the game. They needed a momentum changing hit, but I think Bednar has them too afraid to take penalties or get out of position. Wilson had an opportunity to absolutely blow up the D man coming around the back of the net with the puck at one point, but just stopped in the corner after he passed the puck and didn’t touch him. That could have been a big momentum shifter.
Still very proud of this team the way they played down the stretch. Lots of things may have changed the Avs mind in terms of how they’ll build for the future. Both Grubauer and Barrie were the biggest reasons they made the playoffs and performed well in them. Both could have been gone but may end up being in the Avs plans now.
Congrats on a great season boys! Best in 17 years. You did all us fans that have stuck with you through the dark years proud!