Pre-Game Talk: Week to Sink or Swim (@DAL, DET, @MIN, @WPG)

[Foppa2118]

Roy pimps everyone in the media. Even if he doesn't have a ton of confidence in them inside, he's still going to say nice things to the media because anything otherwise isn't his style.

Guenin plays 16 minutes a game, far less than anyone else on the defense, even Redmond when he plays. I don't think the Avs have a lot of confidence in Guenin, he just is decent on the PK (which hasn't been bad this year) and that's his only saving grace. His even strength TOI is very much limited.

Yea I know, and I think that's fine, it's just become a little funny to me because of how obvious it's become.

I agree on Guenin. Not just PK, but I think one of the main reasons he stuck in the lineup was to anchor for Barrie, because they needed Stuart to do the same for Holden. When they tried Guenin and Holden together it was a disaster.

Personally though, even though Holden's played some good games after EJ went down, I think they gave him too long a leash earlier compared to Redmond. I would have gone with a Stuart-Redmond 3rd pair over a Holden-Stuart pair, despite the fact Stuart plays better on the right. Not that it would have turned their season around any sooner, but I think it would have been a better pairing.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Colorado Avalanche ‏@Avalanche 3m3 minutes ago
Coach Roy: Varlamov is scheduled to play both games this weekend.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Roy isn't going to blow up the PP, like he hinted he might last night. That should make everyone happy who was freaking out over it yesterday.

 

[Ararana]

@Avalanche: Coach Roy is talking to the media now. Says Barrie is coming on the trip but he’s still day to day. May call up a defenseman later today.

I wonder why they'd call up another defenseman? Will they play 7 or is Roy going to sit someone.

Is Siemens still injured? My guess is Stollery.

 

[henchman21]

Mike Chambers ‏@MikeChambers 1m1 minute ago
#Avalanche recalling D Karl Stollery

Not a surprise.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Corbett is now the Monsters first pairing defenseman! I like Corbett but lots of responsibility on him now.

 

[Foppa2118]

Man, how many times in the last two years has Duncan been injured when there was at least a chance at him getting a callup. Guy needs to stay healthy.

 

[tigervixxxen]

It's from Sadowski so this is what he says he saw in practice

He used forwards Matt Duchene, Alex Tanguay and Daniel Briere on one unit with Holden and Iginla at the points. The other unit included forwards Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon with Elliott and Redmond manning the points.

 

[landy92mack29]

Colorado Avalanche ‏@Avalanche 3m3 minutes ago
Coach Roy: Varlamov is scheduled to play both games this weekend.

should give 1 game to berra/pickard. varly needs a break

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

should give 1 game to berra/pickard. varly needs a break

Avs have three days off after this weekend.

 

[Freudian]

Lake Erie have a comically bad defense now. No Elliott, Noreau, Siemens, Stollery. But they have Bruno Gervais.

 

[landy92mack29]

Avs have three days off after this weekend.

back-2-back isn't smart though with the way he's been acting after some plays

 

[AvsRobin]

So it's Briere in for McLeod on the PP? Great news if true.

 

[Freudian]

I get that Roy wants to use the regular lines on the PP so they're not out of sync when the PP ends, but O'Reilly/Duchene worked well together down low last year on the PP.

 

[Avs_19]

Iginla at the point makes no sense to me since he's pretty much the only guy who knows how to get to open spots and get a good shot off. Having him stand at the point seems like a waste.

At least McLeod will no longer be on the PP.

 

[Avsboy]

That's pretty hilarious. Roy lambastes his forwards on the pp and does nothing except remove McLeod and insert Briere. That's a step in the right direction but not enough of a shakeup. He should mix the lines on the PP (Duchene with Iginla, etc), return Iginla to his position near the net, and not have two right shots on at once in Redmond and Elliott.

 

[LieutenantDangle]

That's pretty hilarious. Roy lambastes his forwards on the pp and does nothing except remove McLeod and insert Briere. That's a step in the right direction but not enough of a shakeup. He should mix the lines on the PP (Duchene with Iginla, etc), return Iginla to his position near the net, and not have two right shots on at once in Redmond and Elliott.

i think having redmond and elliot could be real saucy. elliot doesn't need to take that one timer slap shot because his wrister is so wicked so he can play on the right side and redmond can take the one timers on the left side. i honestly think those are our two best shooting defensemen. could pay dividends

 

[Avsboy]

Then put Redmond and Elliott out with players who actually crash to the front of the net, not OReilly and MacKinnon. Put Iginla out there.

 

[LieutenantDangle]

oreilly has shown recently that he can have a pretty solid net front presence with deflections and rebounds but i do get where you're coming from

 

[tigervixxxen]

That's pretty hilarious. Roy lambastes his forwards on the pp and does nothing except remove McLeod and insert Briere. That's a step in the right direction but not enough of a shakeup. He should mix the lines on the PP (Duchene with Iginla, etc), return Iginla to his position near the net, and not have two right shots on at once in Redmond and Elliott.

He said he slept on it and will continue to live and die with his top forwards.

 

[Foppa2118]

Danny B's always been a good PP player. He might actually be the spark they need. I think McLeod has been just fine on the PP, but Roy might be realizing he's not a long distance runner in this sort of situation. He's good in short bursts of effectiveness.

If Briere can add a successful PP role to to his other role as clutch goal scorer every 10 or so games, he'll be making a solid contribution as a 4th liner.

The Avs desperately need a guy (anyone) to step up and play above their role, and above expectation. Every good team has someone do this. They haven't really had anyone do that this year, and instead have had a few key guys playing below expectations.

Having Danny B play on the 4th line and start playing a big role on the PP might be their only shot at that, even though it's not really above what they truly hoped for at the beginning of the year.

 

[S E P H]

I retract my remarks of taking Landeskog completely off the PP, but I have no clue why Roy is playing him at Stastny's old "half mark perimeter playmaking" area of the ice. Maybe he wants him to have him there as another possible one timer solution, but his puck skillz (remember: could be due to an injure) have been atrocious all year. I also don't think his shot is as good as others on our team. You need him right in front of the net on one powerplay unit and Everberg on the other unit. Landeskog is very good at jamming in goals, one of his strengths.

Also surprised not a lot of talk here about MacKinnon and his shooting percentage. I rarely care for analytic numbers and I do not know if Nathan's shooting percentage is underwhelming, average, or unsustainable, but he has been such a frustrating player whenever he is shooting the puck. Thankfully he was better against Detroit, but he KEEPS trying to score the most perfect post and in shots and keeps missing the damn ****in net 99% of the time. His nickname should change from any speed form to "high and wide" or "glass breaker".

 

[Foppa2118]

I retract my remarks of taking Landeskog completely off the PP, but I have no clue why Roy is playing him at Stastny's old "half mark perimeter playmaking" area of the ice. Maybe he wants him to have him there as another possible one timer solution, but his puck skillz (remember: could be due to an injure) have been atrocious all year. I also don't think his shot is as good as others on our team. You need him right in front of the net on one powerplay unit and Everberg on the other unit. Landeskog is very good at jamming in goals, one of his strengths.

Also surprised not a lot of talk here about MacKinnon and his shooting percentage. I rarely care for analytic numbers and I do not know if Nathan's shooting percentage is underwhelming, average, or unsustainable, but he has been such a frustrating player whenever he is shooting the puck. Thankfully he was better against Detroit, but he KEEPS trying to score the most perfect post and in shots and keeps missing the damn ****in net 99% of the time. His nickname should change from any speed form to "high and wide" or "glass breaker".

Landy's definitely struggling with his puck distribution the PP. Problem is they don't have anyone doing that well right now, except O'Reilly to an extent. Duchene's still a mess, and Tanguay for some reason lost all his ability to handle the puck and make plays. I don't know if he's got a hand/wrist injury or something, but he has no touch with the puck at all. Barrie was having trouble putting the puck on his teammates sticks too.

I like the way Roy had them practicing the PP after Detroit though. Had them constantly making quick passes, and were instructed to make sure they got at least two shots off in 20-30 seconds. I think that will hopefully build some good muscle memory towards employing that during games. They've got to move their feet, and move the puck much quicker than they have been.

They're making it too easy for the PK to be aggressive against them, because of how slow and deliberate they're approaching things. Watching other PP's around the league, and the ones that generate chances force the PK to be passive and hold their position. Then they get shots and crash for rebounds. The Avs can't even setup because of how slow they're moving. The PK just jumps on them and breaks it up.

 

[tigervixxxen]

The analytic people attribute a lower than average shooting % to luck so MacKinnon's luck has to turn around eventually.

(Note, I believe some is luck and some shooting situations, which is why I think PDO is BS)

 

[Foppa2118]

The analytic people attribute a lower than average shooting % to luck so MacKinnon's luck has to turn around eventually.

(Note, I believe some is luck and some shooting situations, which is why I think PDO is BS)

I think Mack's problem is where his shots are coming from. They all seem to be from the outside this year. He's not getting in alone with his speed, and he's not finding the soft areas for dangerous shots. He's one of the few in the league that can score from bad angles and long distance, but he still needs to work his way into the prime scoring chance area more often.

I think he needs to show more 2nd and 3rd efforts for loose pucks too. A lot of times when he loses the puck, he just seems to stop working. Happened the other night at the end of the period. He lost the puck with 10 seconds to go, and just stopped working. O'Reilly kept working and almost freed up the puck for a good scoring chance 2 or 3 times, and could have used Nate's help.