Game 8 Recap: Avalanche Road Magic Continues in 5-4 Shoot Out Win

Thanks for writing this up, Chia! I can’t wait for the Audio! Who’d you talk to?

Oilers shut out the Rags…..2-0
LA 0-0 Dallas early in the third.

I didn’t see the game…did Chicago just get away with everything, or were they actually completely angelic gentlemen out there?

…Joakim Nordstrom, Colorado’s third shooter…

LOL.

Nice to see gali playing well and in a larger role. Landeskog, good lord so impressive how he’s perpetually in the right spot.

Duchess was a lt better tonight, and had another wicked shootout move. He’s still looking for consistency and a real role.

Winning ugly. Oh well. Duchene is a mess. Landy is a player and Stastny is really out to prove he’s a winner this year, good to see the bounces going his way more tonight. Ryan OReilly? What can you say, it seems like he gets better with every game this year.

On a side note… WTF Florida? Gave Booth to Vancouver for fucking nothing, They got fleeced, and while I dont give a shit about the Panthers, having Booth in our division is gonna hurt, bad. That guy is uber talented and I was really really hoping the Avs would acquire him. FFS Florida? A 26 year old 20-30 goal scorer for washed up Sturm and overrated aging Samuelsson. I cant even express how pissed i am about this trade

Wowsers.

O’Reilly is such a goddamn stud. I knew that kid was going to be good from that first hot streak he went on when he came into the NHL (it wasn’t long after that I got his jersey, haha) but it’s been so frustrating to see him paired with guys like Tucker who made it impossible for him to get any numbers up. The chemistry he has with Landy is just amazing, I hope it continues.

The “other” professional hockey team in Ohio has more points and wins and they’ve only won once.

That team is a mess on and off the ice. Attendance looks to be dropping fast and they have so much $$ tied up in average to above average players

It’s not just Avs announcers that are all sunnyside. The Rapids goalie let in a completely BRUTAL goal. I mean hideously atrocious goal, and the announcers spent a minute justifying it with stuff like “This little run may have distracted him” nonsense.

So glad to see McNab isn’t the only one in those “Turd Polishing” training courses at KSE.

WHY MATT?!?!?! WHY!?!?!?!
I always knew that a Duche would break my heart… but how could I know it would only take 8 games? D;

Honest question – why wasn’t EJ credited with an assist on Frolik’s goal?

I like this kind of stuff. From SCH:

The Avs didn’t only fall back on luck though.. or at least Gabriel Landeskog didn’t. Both of his goals were beauties and make me think we’ll be cursing his name for some time to come.

thanks very much, Chia. I enjoyed the guest recap and the audio

It’s possible he was trying to do everything out there because he didn’t feel like his linemates could keep up. Still noo excuse for stickhandling yourself out of a play.

RNH scored 5 goals and his shooting % is 29.4, Landeskog scored 4 and his shooting % is 13.8. Does it mean that RNH is a better shooter? Or he is luckier right now? Because no one can keep up such percentage forever.

for the 2nd game in a row, Hejda and EJ were on the wrong side of the ice on a goal they gave up. Obviously, EJ made a terrible decision on the one tonight, but I think they get in trouble getting themselves out of position.

I also think both are putting their partner in trouble with their decisions with the puck. both had several times last night when they dumped the puck to the other who was already heavily covered. predictably, they got plastered and usually coughed up the puck. gee, thanks buddy.

Reading all this whining about about Duchene, Johnson, Hejda… Everyone here does realize that the Avs won last night and currently stand 2nd in the Western Conference? Their 2 losses were to likely cup contenders, and were both close. Let’s not blow up the Thirst Line. It works. It’s playing against the opposition’s top line and WINNING! Stastny’s line had 2 goals last night. It’s working. Leave it alone. Take the remaining 6 forwards and jumble them if you must. Remember, what you are searching for is a 3rd scoring line. Most teams are really happy to have 2.

Dammit, where’s my kool-aid.

This Duchene craziness is just that. He’s had a winger to start the season who was not 100% and got horribly unlucky on a few plays early.

He’ll be fine. He may be doing to much but eventually that will result in goals.

although if he has 0 goals and 65 assists at the end of the year I won’t be mad either

I’m still a little concerned… This team is at 6-2-0, but with 3 of those wins in the Gimmick and a fourth that was actually in overtime. It’s great that you’re staying in games, it’s great that you’re getting the extra point, but I’d really like to see the guys actually lock one down in regulation—especially when you have a 2-goal lead late in the second. Our only regulation wins are against a lottery-tier Ottawa and a still-then-hungover Boston… 3 point games are what keep the rest of the conference in the race even if you’re on a lengthy winning streak.

Toews is a great player. But he’s also kind of a douche. How did he not get a penalty for that cross check on Hejduk after the whistle after his great rush in on Varly?

Shortly after, however, the Hawks tied it on a terrible giveaway by Johnson, who put the puck right on Michael Frolik’s stick.

Terrible?

Terrible?

My good man, it was positively Retarded Dino-Sauerian

Sacco has said a number of times that he is putting O’Reilly, Landeskog, and Winnik out against the opponents’ top lines. Last night the line was a combined +5 with no goals against. If you look at the face-off chart, O’Reilly was at the dot against Toews 12 times, and 8 times against everyone else. Stastny saw lots of Dave Bolland, facing him 14 times and everyone else 5 times. Quenville had the last change, so that was his choice. Clearly he liked the match-up with Toews, but it didn’t work out so well. Toews’ line was a combined -5 with no even strength goals (Toews’ goal came on the power play, and he was out with Kane and Sharp). Quenville got 2 ES goals against the the Galiardi line and one against Stastny (the ugly Johnson anti-assist).

I think right now it’s a toss-up.

The Monsters are now 2-5-1 after beating the Marlies in OT.
Last night it was Elliot who gave the Monsters their first win in OT.
Tonight Barrie scored twice, including the OT game winner.

kobasux is on the cusp of breaking out. I can feel it.

His veteran presence is going to explode.

1) It was a sloppy game on both sides with a lot of fluke goals. We were pretty outplayed, but came up with weird bounces at the right times. But we played hard at the end and our penalty killers came up big time in the OT period. We probably shouldn’t have won that game, but the fact we kept pushing and found a way to eek out 2pts says a lot about this team. And we did it all without a single power play chance against one of the best teams in the league. It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a gritty win. If we can keep that up over the full season, we’ll get a lot of points.

2) I know what we were missing last year that lead to the Tank: it was Swedes. Now that we’ve addressed that problem, we should be fine. Landy was arguably our best player out there (besides Varly, who seems to always be the best Av on the ice), and Lindy’s move in the shootout makes me grin every time I see it. I hope Lindy finds his groove more in regulation though – man I wish he and Matt could get some chemistry going. What a pair they’d be!

3) I don’t think we can call O’Reilly a “Bottom 6” forward anymore. Both of his feeds to Landy that lead to goals were incredible. They were patient, deliberate, and perfectly timed. He’s establishing himself as a legitimate set-up guy with soft hands and great on-ice vision, and it’s reflected on the score sheet. He’s our leading scorer right now with 7pts, all assists. And it’s not like he hasn’t had scoring chances either. Sooner or later, some of those shots that he’s been clinking off the crossbar will find their way to the back of the net. Also, this doesn’t have a “hot streak” feel to it – I think this is the O’Reilly we can expect to see all season. No longer is he just a defensive specialist – he’s a legitimate 2-way player now. Small sample size and all, but if he keeps this up, I think he could turn into a real presence in the NHL. He was an absolute steal in the second round. Pracey = Genius.

4) Duke/Stazz/Jones. Sacco, please keep them together for a while. Even though it kinda leaves Matty D out to dry, it’s a good line. Duke just amplifies everything good about whatever line he’s on, so he made the Stastny/Jones chemistry go from good to great. Right now, that’s probably the best place for him.

5) Oh Dutchy. {sigh} His strengths are his speed and his passing, but we’ve not really seen either so far this season. It seems like he’s trying too hard to be the superstar out there, but he’s holding onto the puck too long and getting owned in the offensive zone. And the fact he’s had multiple games without a shot on goal is a little concerning. I’m not too worried about him – he’ll bounce back – but unless he can find chemistry with someone, it could be a long season for Number 9. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a trade for a Duchene Wing brewing.

6) Varly = win. If he can stay healthy and keep this level of play up, I say we won that trade hands down. To have a 23-year-old that minds the net that well is incredible. I just hope he’s not the next Anderson, but is the long term fix for our goaltending woes. His athleticism is unreal and his speed is sublime. For the first time in a long time, I don’t wince when another team shoots. I’ve been watching a lot of the classic Avs’ games, and I gotta say, I’m as confident in Varly as I am in Roy. Varly’s not to that level (Roy is possibly the best goalie to ever play the game), but he has potential to be at least one of the best in the current NHL. But for heaven’s sakes, can we get him a full time goalie coach?! Seriously, what would it take to get Roy down here? Maybe he can be the next former Av to take over as assistant coach.