Avalanche at Penguins Recap: Avalanche start strong, finish much-less-than-strong and lose 6-3
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 15, 2011 9:22 PM MST
in Avalanche Recaps
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Really, the picture above sums it up better than I can. The Avalanche absolutely pulled a Lucy on us tonight. For a while, they looked like they were going to deliver a huge win. And then....AAAAAAAUGH.
1st Period
Goals: Avs 3, Penguins 1. Shots: Avs 12, Penguins 10
The Avalanche came out a little tentative (stop me if you've heard this one before) but picked up steam fairly quickly. I think a lot had to do with Cody McLeod taking on Aaron Asham after Asham's hard hit on Jan Hejda. Then, the Avalanche killed off a big 5 on 3 and the tide really started to turn Colorado's way. Jay McClement - coming off of two straight healthy scratches - scored the first goal at 14:51 banging home a rebound from Milan Hejduk. Cameras later captured Hejduk giving McClement a little captainly pat on the back.
Duchene was next up with a highlight reel goal. Kyle Quincey started the play off by dropping the puck in the corner. Paul Stastny outhustled Kris Letang and muscled him off the puck before dishing to Matt Duchene in the slot. Duchene appeared lined up to shoot, but instead moved the puck between his legs to the backhand. Sick goal. Duchene was back at left wing tonight and appears to LOVE it. I know it's just 3 games at wing...but I'd keep him there as long as he plays like he did tonight. #lonebrightspot
Jordan Staal scored kind of a soft-looking goal to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Avalanche got it back with 20 seconds left in the period when David Jones and McClement rushed up late and Jones fired a sick shot past Marc-Andre Fleury.
2nd Period
Goals: Penguins 1, Avs 0. Shots: Avs 12, Penguins 11
The period started with Duchene forcing a turnover early giving Hejduk a wide open net, but it ended up ringing off the post. I felt this was a key point in the game. If that goes in, the Avs are up 4-1 and rolling. Instead, it's 3-1 and the Penguins could make it a 1-goal game by scoring the next goal.
The Penguins scored the next goal. (You knew that would happen, right?). It was a fluky one - Semyon Varlamov pounced on a loose puck outside of his crease but couldn't quite reel it in. The Penguins charged hard and Pascal Dupuis ended up banging the loose puck home. Up until this point, the Avalanche were completely controlling the play and the Penguins appeared ready to check out. This goal, coming at the 11:01 mark, totally revitalized the Penguins and the home crowd. There'd be no more scoring in the period...but, the deluge was coming.
3rd Period
Goals: Penguins 4, Avs 0. Shots: Penguins 12, Avs 3
The 3rd was a disaster - one of the worst if not the worst periods of the season for the Avs. Really, all the damage was done in the first 10 minutes or so (3 penalties, 4 goals allowed). The onslaught began just over a minute in when Brooks Orpik's point shot deflected off of McClement's skate, perfectly changing direction to beat Varlamov. Tough luck for both McClement (who had a good game otherwise) and Varlamov (who didn't).
Three minutes later, the Penguins took the lead on an absolutely ridiculous goal by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin first pushed Quincey off the puck behind the net. He dished to James Neal, Neal cycled back to Malkin. Gabriel Landeskog moves to put the body on Malkin. Malkin dekes the pants off of Landy and Varlamov to make the game 4-3. It was an amazing effort by Malkin and a beauty of a goal to watch, albeit a painful one.
The Avalanche were done after this. T.J. Galiardi took a penalty and no one on the PK covered the dangerous James Neal on the PP. Good plan. Right after Neal scored, O'Byrne was called for roughing after running at Matt Cooke (or so it was described...Vs didn't bother with the replay). The Avs killed that one off and then promptly allowed Kris Letang to get a head of steam on Varlamov. Any comeback dreams ended with that softy. Body language fans will be interested to hear that Varly had his head drooped down dejectedly as he played the puck later in the game.
It would be easy to say that instead of waiting for the 3rd period to start playing, the Avalanche instead played early and then quit early. But I don't think that's fair, to be honest. I really think this game just got away from them. They had some chances early to essentially put the game out of reach but couldn't quite seal the deal. Instead, they left the door open for a very strong Pittsburgh team to crawl back into it and, all of a sudden, the football was snatched out of reach. No matter how it happened, though, it's a demoralizing loss and anyone who isn't a little worried about Varlamov's frame of mind right now just hasn't been watching. Good grief.
- Matt Duchene. 7 shots, 1 beautiful goal and somehow was a +1 to boot
- David Jones. 4 shots and a goal.
- ....uh, I guess I'll go with Stastny for the nice set up of the Duchene goal.
| G | A | Pt | +/- | PiM | Shots | Hits | BS | SF | |
| Duchene - Stastny - Hejduk | 1 | 2 | 3 | + 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 68 |
| Lindstrom - Galiardi - Jones | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 54 |
| Landeskog - O'Reilly - Winnik | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 66 |
| McLeod - McClement - Kobasew | 1 | 1 | 2 | E | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 52 |
- Hejda - Johnson
- Quincey - O'Brien
- Wilson - O'Byrne
Porter and Hunwick were the healthy scratches tonight. Peter Mueller was placed on the IR yesterday; this move is retroactive to October 20th so he can be activated any time. It likely isn't an indicator of his health (or lack thereof) but more that Brandon Yip is expected to return soon.
- Kyle Quincey had a rough game defensively and was on the ice - and had a negative impact on - the last 3 goals for Pittsburgh.
- Matt Duchene had 7 shots and David Jones had 4. No other Avalanche had more than 2. Oh, and that was goal #50 of Duchene's career/
- The vaunted thirst line of O'Reilly, Landeskog and Winnik went a combined -5 with just 4 shots.
- The Avs dropped their 4th straight on the road and have one win overall in November.
The Avalanche are in Minnesota on Thursday
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Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 15, 2011 9:28 PM MST reply actions 3 recs
liked that.
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 15, 2011 9:29 PM MST up reply actions
Hahaha
"It's not my fault I never learned to accept responsibility."-Woody Paige
by GeorgeInLimbo on Nov 15, 2011 9:30 PM MST up reply actions
In slow mo, can’t see what he’s saying….“eff off?”
Living in the D, but It's All About The A.
by Avalanche318 on Nov 16, 2011 9:58 AM MST up reply actions
Yes.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:58 AM MST up reply actions
Technically they were under .500 coming into the game but yes, they are now definitely a sub .500 team.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:50 PM MST up reply actions
RABBLE RABBLE SACCO RABBLE
Thanks, Joe... Thanks, Peter.... Thanks, Adam....
by mfured20 on Nov 15, 2011 9:40 PM MST reply actions 1 recs
It seem that the avs are a great team. Unless there is some sort of adversity.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:44 PM MST reply actions
I might have a couple long post here tonight
Guys, I have blasted that trade a lot, but I am going to say a few points on his behalf. I still think we could have grabbed him with a second, but I know we could have grabbed him with a 1st only. Any which way it is over and can’t do anything about it other then to protect your investment. This we have not done yet. I think we really need to bring in a goalie coach. He is young and is playing small and is not seeing the shot.
The Avs have got to prevent the cross crease pass. There was over 30 attempts that got through. Yes, I did keep track. Even more important is that there was always someone there. wink, wink at the offense. Stop the pass and force the shot. Varley was playing strong until the third when the Avs let the passes really get through.
If I see another Defender running over Varley I am going to lose my mind. Protect your damn goalie! The Avs are the only team I know that runs there goalie’s.
1st goal- Stall had a great shot and there was 4 people right on top of Varley
2nd goal- ROB blows Varley up and Lindstrum finishes the effort by. . . I have no idea what the guy was doing.
3rd goal- Silent Jay tips the puck and defies the laws of physics and the puck goes up and over Varley
4th goal- Malkin makes Quincy hesitate, undresses Landy (welcome to the NHL rookie) and Made Varley look bad. Hell that is one of the best players in the league, very little shame in this
5th goal- SOB blows his coverage and still doesn’t cover a shot. Quincy left his guy to cover the guy in the middle. First pass that actually connected. and Neal puts home an easy goal. WTF is Varley suppose to do there.
6th goal- Varley plays pass and leave post. He should have that but I can’t really blame him for playing pass since his team seems to leave it open.
We got a new defense and new goalies but I am seeing the same open shots defensive breakdowns and bag save percentage. If we keep Sacco then Sylvain Lefebvre needs to be fired. It is his defense that has been awful for two years. I think there is enough talent not to play this bad.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 9:44 PM MST reply actions 4 recs
Someone explain to me what happened to our “Big bad defense”?
They’ve reverted to chasing and have let up on being physical and upping the hitting.
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
He is … playing small and is not seeing the shot.
I’m not sure if I understand what you mean by playing small. I’m assuming the “not seeing the shot” is due to traffic? I’m trying to watch the highlights, but the video isn’t working well on my network.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Some of the goals he plainly didn’t see, or were the D’s fault. But at least two goals were squarely on Varly, including that backhander by Kennedy (I believe it was Kennedy)
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Letang. (And I think he shares in responsibility for not covering that puck, then not looking to see if he covered it, and the Malkin goal. Sure Malkin made Landy look silly, but he made Varly look silly too.)
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 8:14 AM MST up reply actions
I thought at first there should have been a whistle (I’ve seen it blown for less), but then on the replay he never really had it, and it was pretty far away from him when it got tapped in
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
This is just my opinion on the goals
after a tough review via my really jumpy video replay (thanks firewall…)
First one (Staal): Bad save selection. He’s in a VH (vertical horizontal) and he goes to a paddle-down as Staal walks out. Here’s the thing: he had a lot of traffic and he wend to the PD because he felt a shot coming that he couldn’t see and he was trying to take away the low ice (which is what you’re supposed to do). The issue is that he HAD to go PD because he was in the VH which limits mobility off of the post. I don’t see any reason for him to be in the VH on that play and as a result he isn’t able to butterfly as Staal comes across. The VH transition to PD reduces his net coverage and leaves the top shelf open. Not sure BF wouldn’t have fixed this issue, but the save selection and the traffic combined on this goal.
Second one (Dupuis): Off his angle. This has been an issue since coming to Denver. Justin has mentioned it several times. If you look at a freeze frame at the time of the shot, Aasham hasn’t made a sudden move or anything, but Varly is square to the shooter. Some of you may think this is a good thing; it isn’t. Shooters don’t score goals. Pucks do. You don’t stop shooters. You stop pucks. He’s 8"-12" off his angle and even though he makes the save, the save is with the boot of the pad (pucks jump off of the boot) and he struggles to locate the rebound (which isn’t a bad rebound, it’s a couple of feet in front of him). He dives to cover the puck, Adams and Co. jar it loose and Dupuis gets a swipe at it. Other than the off angle, his technique on the cover wasn’t anything you don’t see dozens of times a night in the NHL. Not the preferred method, but he was under duress.
Third one (Orpic): On his angle, maybe 6" too deep, but not bad, that shot is labeled for the giant A on his chest before McClement’s Vezina impersonation redirects it over the shoulder.
Fourth one (Malkin): Bit on the first move (or second if you count Landy’s wiff).
Fifth one (Neal PPG): Off his angle again (playing shooter’s body-FWIW MAF was in a bad spot on Jones’ goal as weel). He’s deep in the blue because he knows about the backdoor threat, but he reads the pass as a shot and BF’s and therefore doesn’t rotate and slide as the pass comes across. He kinda looks like he looses sight of the puck as it comes across too. Note: Why did SOB float into the corner on that play? Silent Jay still had decent position. He pulled Quincey off of Neal by sorta chasing Sullivan. Quincey tries to play both attackers and ends up with neither.
Sixth one (Letang): Ugg. He BF’s as he reads the backhand shot coming, but his upper body collapses and he’s in blocking mode. Get’s beat high/short side. Good aggressive challenge and good angle, but I think this was a product of his wide stance and style. I bet he’s had this exact goal scored on him more than once.
All that being said, he had some good, tough saves in that game (Sullivan’s rush in particular). At the end of the day, he needs to sit for a couple. Let Giggy carry the load through at least the Dallas game. Let Varly wash this stretch out of his memory.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
by Mike @ MHH on Nov 16, 2011 9:11 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
good break down Mike. Thanks. What is BF? and FWIW MAF?
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 9:20 AM MST up reply actions
FWIW = for what it’s worth
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:22 AM MST up reply actions
YMMV.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:23 AM MST up reply actions
NTTAWWT
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 9:47 AM MST up reply actions
TWSS
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:49 AM MST up reply actions
IMHO
Living in the D, but It's All About The A.
by Avalanche318 on Nov 16, 2011 10:16 AM MST up reply actions
I don’t even want to ask …
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:17 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
OK I should have put that together but. . . I dont have an excuses I am retarded and lazy
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 9:25 AM MST up reply actions
He is really crouching down smaller then he was at the beginning of the season. The firs goal he goes down and then leans around Johnson, leaving the open top. To me it almost seems like he is squatting and leaning very far forward.
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 9:15 AM MST up reply actions
The book on a goalie that plays as low as him is to get traffic and force him even lower and then concentrate the shots and redirects up. It’s working. It also has the bonus of forcing him deeper in the paint because he can’t see the attack, further reducing his net coverage.
Kevin Weekes laid a bunch of the Avs’ issues in the third period on the Avs stopping hitting. I’m not sure if that was a true observation, but I trust Kevin. That smells of trying to sit on the lead a little, something we know this team has issues with historically.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
I prayed that they wouldn’t try that in the 3rd…but they didn’t even get a chance to since Pitt tied the score so quickly.
The Avs have stopped hitting completely during this last little funk. Seems to be more of an observation not only from commentators (not names Haynes or McNabb), but from people here on the boards
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
I’m wondering if the decrease in physicality is due to the PK, trying to limit the number of penalties taken. Ironically, the Avs can’t seem to stay out of the box. Sex addicts, all of them.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:28 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I will always remember when Salei came to the Avs. Florida fans told us how much he hit, and that he was a big hitter. He did that for his first few games…then the biggest complaint became that he wouldn’t hit. Maybe it’s another one of those management philosophies
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Hannan was never a big hitter, iirc. He was a great clutch and grabber, and got away with it for an entire playoff series against Forsberg, but the enforcement of obstruction rules pretty much stagnated his career. Imho.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 2:13 PM MST up reply actions
there may be more to this ...
So, as I mentioned briefly in another thread, some of my seats are in section 132, right on the aisle next to section 130. Now I have heard that there are blocks of seats in 130 for player wives/girlfriends. This may or may not be true. Regardless, the number of incredible young hotties in section 130 is astounding. I don’t know how they get up and down the stairs in those tight pants and 4" or more heels, but frankly, I don’t care. So, I’m wondering, if these young hotties do in fact somehow get these seats from players, could this help to explain the …. errrrr …. lack of focus at home?
TMZ wants to know!
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:35 AM MST up reply actions
I see a similar group of women every time I cover Hawks games. They don’t seem to have much of a problem with it
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Shouldn’t they be playing BETTER in front of a captive audience of hot chicks?
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
they are going to get some anyways, so why would you put the effort. Sympathy sex
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 10:06 AM MST up reply actions
Yes, that is the wives/GFs section.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:53 AM MST up reply actions
There are hot wives in all sports, but for some reason hockey wives, and golfer’s wives tend to be the hottest. I find that odd
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Hockey players have good taste. They chose to play hockey, after all.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:01 AM MST up reply actions
b/c they are decent looking guys who are not dirtbags like the NBA and tend to be cool and fun (and rich)
by the cool breeze on Nov 16, 2011 2:00 PM MST up reply actions
I know that isn’t true. the Avs had 25 penalties in the third they had to be hitting right?
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 9:28 AM MST up reply actions
I've been harping on this on twitter all night
But Varly has SUCKED over the last month. S-U-C-K SUCK SUCK SUCKITY SUCK. Like suckiest suck who ever sucked He’s playing worse than Any goalie last year.
Giguere in, admittedly small sample size, is 4-0 with a .920 save %
Varlamov: Welcome to Benchville: population Hunwick & You!.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 9:45 PM MST reply actions
I didn’t see the game tonight, was Varly just bad or was the D bad too?
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:52 PM MST up reply actions
Have you watched this team for the past 100 games? Same as it ever was.
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
so 75% on the D?
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:53 PM MST up reply actions
I Don't believe that
Avs have made substantial improvements this season. But Varlamov has completely let them down.
Avs record when getting .900+ (that’s average or better) save% 6-3. When getting sub-.900 2-4-1
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:02 PM MST up reply actions
Also
all those sub .900 games are Varlamovs
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:03 PM MST up reply actions
For comparison, Luongo had 15 sub-.900 games ALL SEASON last year, Varly’s already at 7 before Thanksgiving.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:11 PM MST up reply actions
I guess it comes down to positioning by the goalie and the defense and that they both suck right now.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 10:14 PM MST up reply actions
Varly’s been bad, but so many opponents’ split of defensemen to break in on him untouched up the middle, backside goals on the pp, 3 on 2’s, 2 on 1’s, getting smoked by his own defensemen, our own guys putting the puck in the net, deflections off Avs. Seems there have been a huge number of no chance for Varly type of goals. It’s a combination of bad defensive play and Varly has sucked. His confidence looks shot.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
I really don’t think it’s poor defense, in general. The Avs are giving up chances, but are they giving up more than an average team? Their shots against per game is 14th. I have a hard time their giving up that many more quality chances than everyone else.
They certainly aren’t giving up more quality chances than last years squad… yet Varlamov’s save percentage in nearly every situation is worse than Anderson, Budaj or Elliott (especially over the last month). since October 15th he’s been downright putrid.
His SH save % is .797. .797!?! That’s not a typo. Anderson’s last season was .898. It would take a lot to make me believe that this team is that much worse on the PK than last season’s team.
Varly is sucking donkey balls, and it’s costing this team a lot of points.
It’s easy to say “The defense is leaving him out to dry” but it maybe it just feels that way because “allowing a shot” is leaving him out to dry right now. I mean he had 3 bad goals against tonight (Letang backhand, Malkin made him look stupid, and the “I got the puck covered so I won’t look up just to make sure and look for the puck, oh how’d it get behind me?” goal. And it’s not exactly like the Staal goal wasn’t saveable.
Giguere is playing behind the exact save defense, and he doesn’t have a sub .900 game yet. The Avs are giving up the same chances and he’s managing to keep them out of the net.
I don’t think it’s the defense, not that they couldn’t improve, but maybe Varlamov is making them look bad, not the other way around. Guess what, every team gives up scoring chances, bad ones. Even the really really really good teams do. Notice how the Penguins, the best team in the league, gave up quite a few scoring chances. Notice how Fleury saved a good portion of them.
Varly’s been putrid since October 15th. Worst month for a goaltender the Avs have had in three years. just miserable.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:28 PM MST up reply actions
So what’s your solution? Bench Varly and ride Jiggy? I agree that Varly’s confidence looks shot. I don’t think he should be playing as many games as he is right now, but I don’t think you can bench him completely, because how else is he going to rebound?
I am sure you are cursing the trade, but after a few seasons of watching Varly, this isn’t him. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he isn’t this horrible. I think he needs many intensive seasons with a goalie coach, not sure McLean is working out for him. I don’t know how his confidence has been ruined, but they need to work on that.
Not sure that you want to hear this, but I think the Avs have really taken a toll on Varly. He never played this shitty for this long before. A bad game for him was always an isolated instance and he quickly rebounded. He’s not rebounding now. Something about the situation isn’t working. I think the Avs need to take some time and try to fix it for him or they are going to waste their huge investment in him. Honestly I don’t really know how they let it get so bad, but I think he can rebound with the proper coach working with him. Jiggy even said Varly is working hard and trying. It’s not for the lack of effort. Maybe he needs a sports psychologist as well, I don’t know, I don’t really understand goalies. Also, not really sure how that whole Lokomotiv situation affected him. Anyway, I don’t think you should completely write him off yet as a bust. The season is young and he has a three year contract! He has the talent and skill to be a good goalie.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 10:46 PM MST up reply actions
I don’t think he’s horrible. But he’s horrible right now, so yeah bench him. Duchene went to the 4th line when he sucked.
Sometime players just have slumps. I don’t doubt he’s working hard.
But fact is he’s sucking. It’s really, REALLY costing his team. He should sit. He’ll play better, I have no doubt about it. But he’s been bad. really really bad.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:58 PM MST up reply actions
Putting Duchene on the 4th line was one of those bizarre moves by Sacco I questioned. A skill player like that doesn’t rebound playing on the 4th line. As long as he’s putting in the effort, I think you keep playing him on the skill lines until he rebounds.
How long do you sit Varly? A few weeks? A month? Until he seems like he has improved in practice? Can Jiggy really physically handle starting that long? I’m not sure how that water absorption issue affects him.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 11:03 PM MST up reply actions
2 possibly 3 games in a row. unless gigure craps the bed.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:07 PM MST up reply actions
What’s it going to do to his confidence to keep giving up 6 goals per game?
Put Jiggy in. That’s what he’s here for. Let Varly take a game two or three out and give him a chance to gain his confidence back….slowly.
And yes, we need a full time goalie coach.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 8:30 AM MST up reply actions
Dear Cheryl and others,
We have a goalie coach.
Thank you,
Avs management
P.S. – What is this “full time” thing you guys keep referring to?
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
by chiavsfan on Nov 16, 2011 8:31 AM MST up reply actions 2 recs
P.S. – What is this "full time" thing you guys keep referring to?
Dunno, Mr. Kroenke. I can’t find it anywhere here in the WalMart Abridged Dikshunairy of EEnglush Goodtalkin’.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
All employees of the Avalanche are part-time. No player has played 60 minutes yet.
My Eno$ itches
by Busted Twigg on Nov 16, 2011 11:33 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
I agree, let him sit for a couple of games and watch the game and learn a what he needs to do to be better. I dont mind the benching, just needs to have great communication to get this guy back to an elite level. If that means he has one on one time with Sacco watching games then so be it.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 11:03 PM MST up reply actions
Unfortunately I don’t know that Varly will learn just by watching the game. Instead he needs to be watching and going over everything with a goalie coach.
I do think he should sit out for a bit until they can get him in a better mental state. I think at this point playing just makes it worse because it’s not going well and it just adds to the problem by making him more frustrated or upset.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 11:10 PM MST up reply actions
Instead he needs to be watching and going over everything with a goalie coach.
mmmmm, a goalie coach; what a novel concept. The Avs franchise prefers to eat its goalies alive, thank you.
2010-2011 Colorado Avalanche: Defying Corsi
No no, they have a part time guy. He is there…sometimes…maybe
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
What would help Varley if the defense actually play pass. Stop a cross crease pass without running over Varley. It would help if the defense quit nudging players out of the crease and grow a pair and knock them to the boards if they are going to stand there. If the Defense wants to take a penalty then take one that is punishing. Varley played strong on the post in the first two periods. Varley shrunk low on the Stall goal so he can see around Johnson.
Advice to Varley from a guy who never played goal, play big and trust the shot will hit you. Don’t take yourself out of position because you cant see. And the next time you get left out like that beat the shit out of a TV in the coach’s office and pay the bill. Then the team knows how much it means to you.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 11:00 PM MST up reply actions
I think the defense leaves Varly out to dry a lot, but he’s not handling it very well. He does let in some soft goals, and the weird fluky ones the defense hit in themselves probably don’t help him trust the defense either. I’ve been thinking all season that Varly has been crouching too low, that’s a new thing for him this season.
I thought Varly was looking better in the first two periods compared to the previous games. But then he reverted back in the third period. They need to get his confidence up. He just doesn’t seem to be doing the best mentally right now.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 11:07 PM MST up reply actions
I don’t think the defense is playing any worse than any other defense in the league. Every defense gives up quality scoring chances. Pittsburgh is 7th in GA/G and 5th in SA/G and they gave up a ton of quality chances to the Avs tonight.
Goaltenders don’t make millions of dollars to make easy saves, they make them to make tough saves when the defense breaks down.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:08 PM MST up reply actions
For the most part, it seems goalies play better when they leave the Avs, and worse when they get to Colorado. That’s got something to do with the defense.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
So even though the entire defense has changed, and coaches have changed? I don’t think that’s the case.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:14 PM MST up reply actions
From what I see, our defensive scheme is not good. I’m not going to say it’s all defensemen, either, as we don’t possess the puck in the attack zone, and the forwards constantly give up the puck. Our neutral zone play isn’t consistent, and we play a poor end to end game.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
I completely disagree. Our puck possession has improved by leaps and bounds. Just hard to feel it when a goal is going in one in 5 shots.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:28 PM MST up reply actions
we are a lot better then what people realize. Remember this Penguins is a really good team and is coached damn near perfect. Coach coaches with the talent he has not coach the talent to what he wants.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 11:33 PM MST up reply actions
I do think we’re getting a bit stronger on the puck(didn’t mean to say we do not possess the puck, at all, in the attack zone, above), but still see lots of times when we can’t possess it as well as we need to, and I believe part of our defense problems starts in the attack end of the ice. I just can’t blame these losses on Varly, even though he’s sucked, when the defense, overall, hasn’t been very good.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 6:33 AM MST up reply actions
Oh you and your facts. Who do you think you are? We are PANICKING around here, damn it!
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 8:33 AM MST up reply actions
all suckity suck suck on Varly?
I have said that Varly’s play has sucked, but also I said the defense was part of the problem, and this is not all on Varly. You say this is not the case. I say our puck possession game isn’t that good, we lose the puck too often, and play an inconsistent neutral zone game, and play a poor end to end game, which I believe lead to defensive breakdowns. You disagree. I say I don’t think we are a good puck possession team. You say you think we are. So, in essence, you are blaming everything on Varly, and I guess you believe the Avs are actually good at puck possession, have a good defense, and just lack the goalie to win. I can’t do that. I believe a big part of Varly’s recent drop in save percentage and poor play is due to the rest of the team. I see lots of problems in different areas, including puck possession by our forwards. Varly’s been bad, but our less than stellar defense, our lack of strategy, our poor puck possession, mixups in communication, even bad referee decisions have played a part…so many reasons for losses, and I think a lot of these points lead to Varly’s poor play, or at least, exacerbates it. I think your attack on Varly is not warranted to the degree you lay all the blame on him, and my points are essentially saying these are team losses, not just Varly losses. He has been awful, but so have EJ and Wilson parting like the red sea vs. Calgary, ROB’s game yesterday, etc. I think JIggy does need to start a few games, and Varly does need to settle down, but we need to play better, overall.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
A very good puck possession team keeps the puck about 55% of the time at ES (score ties). A good one keeps it above about 51.5%.The link I linked to above has the Avs at right around .530.
They are a good puck possession team.
NHL caliber goaltending is, at a very bare minimum, .900 save %. Varlamov over the last month is at .865. That’s worse than AHL caliber. That’s AHL caliber.
IT has been studied, ad nauseum, about shot quality and whether defensive systems (or lack therof) effect save %’s: The best post on it is probably by JLikens here: The conclusion is, over the long term not much.
Is it possible that over the short term, the Avs defense is affecting Varly’s save % sure it’s possible. Small sample size and all.
So the best way to test this is to at least bound the problem. So how do I do that, pick a really really bad defense and compare Varly’s save %’s to that.
Luckily I know a bit about really really bad defenses: I compared him to Avs goalies of last season… And the Budaj/Anderson/Elliott trifecta have far and away better stats than Varly. I also compared to this years Ottawa and Toronto teams for more data. Varly doesn’t compare favorably.
Now add to this the fact that in the 20 minutes I have typed this up the Devils and Sabres have combined for about 10-15 incredible chances together, and it’s yielded exactly one goal it really leads me to believe that the Avs don’t give up quality chances more or less than any other team in the league, proportionally to their shots against.
(Furthermore there are a ton of bloggers counting quality chances out there this season. I have glanced at Avs numbers when they play them and it’s not out of line proportionally)
Therefore that leaves 2 things that could be going wrong: Random chance and Goaltending.
The biggest factor in a small sample size, say 10 games, is random chance. It always is. The second biggest is, right now, goaltending. It’s not some “bad defense” that doesn’t allow shots against, but allows really quality ones.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 7:09 PM MST up reply actions
Personally, I do find the puck possession skills are not the best on the Avs. The only thing I can say as evidence is subjective, but i watch the Wings cycle the puck, and they’re great at it. We aren’t. I find the defensive play of the Avs can be brutal. Our schemes are questionable, our scorers are inconsistent and there are many factors, other than goaltending that has led to losses. I am not necessarily defending Varly’s poor play, but I don’t think it is all on him. He has weakness just as other goalies do, but I do point to the fact that Colorado goalies in the past four years have all had poor stats. The small sample size does indicate Varly is worse, so far, than other goalies, but it doesn’t show anything to the point that the defense might also be a factor in Varly’s problems. If you really want to fair, you should compare the other goalies stats with the Avs, before and after going to other teams. When all the goalies seem to get worse when they come to the Avs, and seem to get better when they leave, does this not call into a look at our defensive play and schemes? If Jiggy plays the majority of games, I believe his stats will likely fall, as well, because of our poor defensive game.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
It’s really not all that subjective Corsi has a.9 Pearson correlation to Zone time.
Our schemes are questionable, our scorers are inconsistent and there are many factors, other than goaltending that has led to losses.
Prove it. These are the kinds of things people (and please not just you) say all the time when a team is struggling. To the point it’s cliche and has really lost all meaning. People keep saying this, but I don’t believe it. There’s very little hard evidence of this at all.
But I will back up my talk. I’m going through NHL.com footage, which actually has a pretty damn good archive of highlights and shots against, and documenting scoring chances for other teams. Then I’m going to document the Avs scoring chances against and see if the Avs are giving up an out of the ordinary amount of scoring chances.
I suspect they aren’t and that people are having what I’m going to coin as “Losing bias”, where everything looks bad because the Avs are losing. But I seriously doubt the Avs schemes are leading to any irregular number of scoring chances against proportionally.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 9:14 PM MST up reply actions
I do think simple things, like switching up to a more clogged up neutral zone when we have a lead, or want a defensive stance…maybe a 1-2-2, could help. At times, i see the opposition come in so quickly on our defensive blueline, as we give up the defensive zone way too easily, and the d-men are at the dots before they engage with the oppositions’ forwards. At other times, it seems the defensive communication is so poor, the opposition splits us free down the middle. On the penalty kill, we seem to get into a habit of diminishing the size of our PK square to the point that if the opposition has the ability to spread the ice to four corners, we can’t cover it, and don’t seem to adjust well, from a 2-2 PK to a 1-2-1, when that happens. While I do believe the goalie is the biggest factor in a PK, it certainly seems we lack positioning, at times. Offensively, it doesn’t seem we get into a set offense in the attack zone, well, a problem created by poor puck possession on the boards and on the cycle. A cure for that, I’m not sure, it seems our forward are a little late getting in the forecheck, at times, but I see us losing the puck too easily, in the attack zone, as the biggest problem. It seems most of our goals come on quick breaks, and when we miss, the puck seems to come back really quickly, on odd man breaks for the opposition. I believe our run and gun lessens our ability to consistently get the down and dirty rebound type of goals. I do think we’re getting better at puck possession, naturally, as the young guys like Dutchy, Radar and Landy get stronger and more experienced, but they aren’t able to wrestle pucks away in a scrum against older, stronger and more experienced opponents, right now. . Dutchy used to go down often, to his knees, but I see less of it, this season. Skill wise, when we have Winnick missing a whole lot of chances created by Radar and Landy, it makes me cringe, and might lead to some offensive inconsistency. A basic technical note to Winnick: keep you stick down on the ice!
Also, the chart below created by SteveHouse, which shows we score in bunches and give up goals in bigger bunches, leads me to believe there is evidence the Avs are a streaky offensive team. Streaky can mean inconsistent. Not sure it does, we seem inconsistent to me.
I just believe that Varly should not be thrown under the bus for team losses. The Avs have a lot to work on, end to end, and they’re trying hard and getting better, but to think they have played well enough and Varly is THE cause for losing, I just don’t think so.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
Those are some fair observations.
I never said the Avs don’t have things to work on, BUT….
Like I said I am going through and documenting scoring chances and goals for a ton of teams. I have 7 games so far (which is 14 data points). So small sample size, not a complete set of data…
But right now the Average # of bona fide scoring chances per game-against: 10 +/- 3
Average ratio of Scoring chances to shots: .333 +/- .09
Last night’s game against the Pens the Avs gave up 11 scoring chances and had a ratio of .333 Scoring chances/shots. In a small sample, that’s dead average, yet gave up six goals.
So, in last night’s game at least, it appears that the Avs didn’t give up any more, or less, quality scoring chances than an average team in an average game. The difference was : Luck & Goaltender.
Not to say they couldn’t be better, but I’m not buying the whole “Avs are giving up more quality chances than other team” angle. At all.
(For the record the Pens gave up 8 chances and a Chance/Shot ratio of .28, which is low but within average)
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 10:36 PM MST up reply actions
I understand your opinion on Varly, and thanks for the discussion. Frankly, I hope you’re right and I’m wrong.
I am so fucking tired of losing.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
Z
It’s what’s for dinner.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
The defense wasn’t this bad under Granato. I think 7sky has a good point. We got a new defense it is the same type of goals being scored. Andy, did great for Ottawa last year and is playing good now (bad start). Elliot is playing unbelievable. Boods isn’t playing to bad on a poor Canadians teem. Varley played great last year, poor this year. Giggy is the one exception but he was playing injured in Toronto.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 11:31 PM MST up reply actions
Budaj has played 2 games, period. Anderson is hit and miss (but had a great game last night), Elliott is an enigma right now
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Not just the defense, but the goalie coach situation as well and possibly other things going on with the team.
Goalie Guild totally predicted that this would happen to Varly. I didn’t want to believe him at first because it was depressing but he was right.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 11:15 PM MST up reply actions
No goalie coach is ridiculous. Now we need a sports psychologist and maybe a hypnotist.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
What you really need is to hire someone to kidnap Jussi Parkkila from SKA and bring him over here ASAP. Or maybe dig up wherever Arturs Irbe is hanging out in Latvia (I think he quit the Caps for “family reasons” and went back there). Both those guys have proven that they work well with Varly. I don’t know how often Varly is working with McLean, but either it’s not enough or they don’t work well together. I thought it curious that Varly worked with McLean on Friday then he played awful on Saturday night. But maybe McLean is helping him somewhat, he did look better in the first couple periods tonight compared to how he had played in a while.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 11:23 PM MST up reply actions
For the most part, it seems goalies play better when they leave the Avs, and worse when they get to Colorado. That’s got something to do with the defense.
Alternatively, it could be the goalie coach – or lack thereof.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 8:32 AM MST up reply actions
Varlamov is getting out of position all the time and he’s not reading the play. That sullivan pass across the crease to Neal on the PP was mostly the d-man’s fault but he could have played that puck with his stick, etc. He’s making some saves but he’s not making any BIG saves like he was earlier in the year. That said, their defense was atrocious last night and no goalie could make all those saves. They let pitt drive the net all third period.
by the cool breeze on Nov 16, 2011 2:03 PM MST up reply actions
Varely wasn’t great but a few bad bounces and a defense that laid down in the third.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 9:54 PM MST up reply actions
I think losing that ‘Oh, shit here it goes again." mentality is the hardest part about not being a shitty team. This team has enough talent in the top 6 and more than enough in the bottom 6 to do something. On paper the D should be better than they are and so should the team (which would be imo about 6-8 points higher in the standings). I don’t see this ending well for Sacco, the next 6 games are against good teams and…ahem… some pretty much all are at home where they ain’t so good lately.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 10:02 PM MST up reply actions
Sacco will be gone by xmas, any takers for a bet? It’s not just losing, it’s getting to the point of him losing the team. They looked really shaky in the 3rd and they don’t have any confidence.
by the cool breeze on Nov 16, 2011 2:13 PM MST up reply actions
I will take that bet
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 2:19 PM MST up reply actions
Dater swears Sacco’s job is not at risk. He has informed everyone, via twitter, that speculation is inappropriate.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
You have to believe that Sherman knows the situation he’s put Sacco in. He’s been told to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. That trip to the playoffs after ‘09-’10 haunts us still. You can’t make a competitor on a cellar-dweller budget, but that one outlier made it look possible.
This is a bad hockey team. Blame KSE.
My Eno$ itches
by Busted Twigg on Nov 16, 2011 3:02 PM MST up reply actions
I said it then and I’ll say it again, the 09-10 run delayed the rebuild and raised expectations from the fanbase.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
z
Quit sayin things.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
But Varly has SUCKED over the last month. S-U-C-K SUCK SUCK SUCKITY SUCK. Like suckiest suck who ever sucked He’s playing worse than Any goalie last year.
The hyperbole is disgusting around here.
That’s a JOKE!
"Wisdom requires a flexible mind" - Dan Carlin
by Nemesis44UK on Nov 16, 2011 10:32 AM MST up reply actions
Yeah, but that’s funny.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:38 AM MST up reply actions
That was funny
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 10:39 AM MST up reply actions
I meant Nemesis’ comment, I’m not pumping my own tires here
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 10:40 AM MST up reply actions
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure. I mean, if someone isn’t going to do it for you, either bitch about it or pump your own. Only some tactless wanker would bitch that someone else wasn’t pumping his tires.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:43 AM MST up reply actions
Tactless wanker?
Outstanding swearage miss Bradley. Did not know that term was used in the US. Tis a fine profanity
"Wisdom requires a flexible mind" - Dan Carlin
by Nemesis44UK on Nov 16, 2011 4:32 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
What the H just happened? I left during the second intermission, came back 30 minutes later, and we’re down 3.
Whiskey tends to make me high, and sad songs make me cry. Pretty women break my heart almost every night. I run on beans and nicotine; I'm a real, live buckaroo. And my heart's not pure, my boots ain't clean, and I never tell the truth.
This might cheer you up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cds7lSHawAw&list=HL1321414201&feature=mh_lolz
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
Unless it’s a unicorn pissing a rainbow, probably not.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:52 PM MST up reply actions
I have seen that before, it is funny. Babies and drunks are funny, especially when they are the same.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 9:55 PM MST up reply actions 2 recs
My favorite video (my first link post! I hope I do it right!).
The Colorado Avalanche: 2012 Cup Champions Until They Ain't!
by burgundyRainbow on Nov 15, 2011 10:04 PM MST up reply actions
Classic.
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
by BraxtanFILM on Nov 16, 2011 11:47 AM MST up reply actions
The master plan is almost in place. Other teams are going to come into the Pepsi Center full of confidence during the upcoming homestand. Then the holiday massacre of all opponents will commence.
The Colorado Avalanche: 2012 Cup Champions Until They Ain't!
by burgundyRainbow on Nov 15, 2011 9:56 PM MST reply actions 6 recs
FOR VICTORY!!!!
Whenever I want to save something I don't click "Save"... I click "Semyon Varlamov it"
by Thor the Clunge Destroyer on Nov 15, 2011 10:04 PM MST up reply actions
Hi!
I hope this cheers at least a few of us up. It’s SFW and I thought it was funny. Good times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WVgNYaBsuc4
Winnik is going to cost Sacco his job. He had more TOI then everyone but Stastny (by seconds), Quincey (again by just seconds), O’Brien (stop me if you’ve heard this before by just seconds), Johnson and Hedja. I know they were on the PK a lot this game, but it isn’t anything new, look at any game they’ve played in the last 3 weeks and he’s top 2 or 3 at forward for TOI, that’s time that someone with offensive talent wasn’t on the ice.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 10:13 PM MST reply actions
If anyone’s costing Sacco his job, it’s Varlamov
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:15 PM MST up reply actions
Also
he may cost Sherman his job too if he keeps this crap up all season.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:15 PM MST up reply actions
So you think it’s all on the goaltender? (no snark/scarcasm) or mostly on him? I didn’t see tonight but it seems to me that the D leaves him out to dry on most goals.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 10:17 PM MST up reply actions
Winnik shouldn’t be getting top-6 minutes (although he had 5:30 of SH ice time, which has something to do with it). But Varlamov is the biggest problem with this team right now.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:30 PM MST up reply actions
Sacco is contributing to the problem by continuing to start Varly when Varly is playing like crap. That’s on Sacco.
by vtcapsfan99 on Nov 15, 2011 10:55 PM MST up reply actions
Don’t be mean to Sacco! Coaching is hard.
Keep shuffling the lines, that will fix it.
by Tony Trujillo on Nov 15, 2011 11:30 PM MST up reply actions
Maybe these will help
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 7:59 AM MST up reply actions
his winnik love affair isn’t a new thing. I just don’t get it. He’s very defensively sound but there is more to the game than that. Jones or Duchene would be a much better option than him, espically if you’re down with 5 minutes left (which he’s been out there for).
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:11 PM MST up reply actions
I think he sees himself in Winnik – a medium sized defensive grinder with aspirations of offensive glory.
My Eno$ itches
by Busted Twigg on Nov 16, 2011 11:48 AM MST up reply actions
If Sacco gets fired, the entire team can be held somewhat accountable, and I disagree it’s mostly on Varly, or one player. Sacco may have streaks of stubbornness and other problems, but I don’t see how his use of players or one player is the cause of his demise. The biggest problem I see is that Sacco does not adapt his strategy during a game. There are ebb and flows, and he does not adjust. This is simply not a guy capable of being a good NHL head coach, if he can’t adapt to game situations with some kind of solution worked out in practice for different scenarios. Our talent isn’t that great, but come on, the coaching has to prepare the team better so they are able to call on the players to execute a plan, of which, seemingly, there is none.
Tonight, with a 3-1 lead, you know the Pens are a great team, and they’re going to come at you, but our neutral zone looked the same the entire game. It’s a nice open area, for us, when the opponent is not playing well, and we’re zooming around, but it’s a skate in the park, for them, when we suck. No trapping. No problem for the Pens to skate through. No plan. No preparation. No execution. No wins.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
The Sherminator should be fired too, clean house. His excellent signings of washed-up swede, kobasuck, are enough reasons alone.
by the cool breeze on Nov 16, 2011 2:17 PM MST up reply actions
It’s clear that Sherman has been told that his budget is the cap floor plus $15. He needed to fill out a team of kids with whatever veterans he could afford. He picked through the scraps of FA, and gave out low-ball contracts to get to the floor. He took the route of picking guys that had displayed flashes of talent, hoping that they might find a way back to that form. The Varlamov trade played both to youth and flashes of talent. He went for a young guy who, if he could stay healthy, might be a long-term solution in goal.
I think it’s hard to pin any of this on Sherman. He’s been working with both arms tied behind his back.
Blame KSE.
My Eno$ itches
by Busted Twigg on Nov 16, 2011 2:56 PM MST up reply actions
Hear Hear!
As bad as Lindstrom may be, he’s signed for the league minimum and wouldn’t have come over on a 2 way deal. The only real point against Sherman is that suckmonster X from the AHL could just as easily be doing the job. Regardless, that suckmonster would be making the same money as Lindstrom even if he were eating nachos. As it is, Sherman got the top scorer from the second best hockey league in the world (SEL) for literally, as little as he possibly could pay him. Good deal from a GM standpoint.
Kobasew I agree is overpaid (even at a relatively low $1.25M per), but I’m willing to give Dwight a pass on that one because I think he made a great signing with O’Brien for a lousy $1M.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
I agree with this, mostly. I’m in wait and see mode on the Varlamov and Johnson trades, and the Hunwick trade was terrible. Beyond that though, he’s been good.
I think both trades were calculated risks. Sherman looked at what he had and what he needed. Defense was tiny and putrid last year. They’re bigger now (putridity may only be temporary), and Johnson has loads of potential. He had no goaltending, and he may have found a winner if they can get Varly back to fundamentals.
If C6 is right, next year they start spending money. If they want to keep the talented RFAs long term, they’ll have to tender them nicely. They also have to avoid the image of a franchise to avoid if they want to attract any decent UFAs. If instead they lowball, I’ll know it’s time to look for another team to support. If they’re not going to try, I say screw ’em.
Sherm made the Hunwick deal. OK, whatever. God made the platypus. It happens to everyone.
My Eno$ itches
by Busted Twigg on Nov 16, 2011 4:21 PM MST up reply actions
But come on playing a 3rd liner star-like minutes? It’s just not a good idea.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 10:18 PM MST up reply actions
soooo. Winnik is costing Sacco his job by not being a top 6 forward despite Sacco constantly assuming he should be one?
Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 15, 2011 10:20 PM MST up reply actions
I like to use more words when I’m on this site.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:12 PM MST up reply actions
I think at this point I’m sold Winnik should not be on that line but Jones should, would help a lot I think. I can’t undertsand why sacco leaves him there. He couldn’t score on a friday night in Vegas.
by the cool breeze on Nov 16, 2011 2:15 PM MST up reply actions
I cant agree to this, but I dont think any goalie has been hung out to dry like Varley has either, maybe Giggy.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 10:30 PM MST up reply actions
Giggy’s numbers (small sample size) are great, same defense in front of him.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:31 PM MST up reply actions
not denying that. He has made some great saves to get those wins.
by avalanchejef on Nov 15, 2011 10:37 PM MST up reply actions
you need to find a ‘small font’ when using that term.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:13 PM MST up reply actions
Yeah, it sucks to admit…because I want the Varly trade to be good…
But if you flipped the number of starts, this is a 5th or 6th place team, easy.
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
by BraxtanFILM on Nov 16, 2011 11:58 AM MST up reply actions
Maybe a little, It is a small sample size still. He’s had some bad luck (see the Orpick goal) but he’s not making enough saves.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 10:30 PM MST up reply actions
He seems to have trouble finding and covering the puck when there’s that scramble in front. So many goals against seem to be garbage goals.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 8:38 AM MST up reply actions
My Bad
Had to leave after watching the first period. I’ll take the blame.
Varly!
by niwotsblessing on Nov 15, 2011 10:45 PM MST reply actions
You selfish bastard.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
I was wondering
Stephan Elliot has 2 goals and 5 assists with a +3 and 36 shots. If we are going to give up 6 goals a night why not bring in a guy that can help score goals. Send Hunwick to AHL, if he gets picked up on waivers oh well, not that we are using him anyways. Put ROB on Nacho duty. Or find a trade for either one.
Other options are Cameron Awesome with 1 goal and 6 assists +3 and 25 PIM with 12 shots. He would replace grit with grit. Also, Tyson Barrie has 2 goals 4 assists -5 with 31 shots. I think Tyson needs to season a bit more.
Yip is going to be taken off IR which means someone will have to be sent down…
Which means if Elliot comes up, 2 guys have to go down.
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
Hasn’t Mueller been put on IR to make room for Yip?
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 8:05 AM MST up reply actions
I believe so, didn’t we cover that yesterday?
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
yes and yes
Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 16, 2011 8:07 AM MST up reply actions
and again in the recap which I know is around here somewhere
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 8:10 AM MST up reply actions
So we are still above the cap floor with Mueller on the ir?
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 16, 2011 10:33 AM MST up reply actions
Luckily, we can still count him against the floor while he is on IR. Teams that want to be competitive might use IR for cap exceptions, but we’ll never have to worry about that.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:35 AM MST up reply actions
ever
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 10:53 AM MST up reply actions
Sadly, I’m not a believer in C6’s master plan theory. I really do think it is all about the bottom line right now, and the NHL’s revenue share for bottom spenders is keeping Enos happy.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:56 AM MST up reply actions
We’ll see in FA or the trade deadline. Not sure what the Avs would have spent more money on, there wasn’t much out there worth spending on last off-season.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 11:13 AM MST up reply actions
Not sure what the Avs would have spent more money on, there wasn’t much out there worth spending on last off-season.
Coaching of all flavors and stripes, marketing….
yeah. Nothing.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
From a salary cap point of view.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 11:32 AM MST up reply actions
Is there another?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 11:43 AM MST up reply actions
I don’t argue that point. I think that Sherman has done very well with his internal cap and getting quality for it (this includes not signing KovyKontrakts®).
The quality of coaching has done nothing but atrophy since Sakic Night.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
As a fan, I’m holding out hope for C6’s master plan. Truthfully, if the Avs land Parise and Suter/Weber, as improbable as that seems, then I don’t really care about losing the pick in exchange for an enigma. But money MUST BE SPENT.
The alternative is that you are right and the bottom line is all that matters, now and in the future. If that’s the case, then there’s not much reason to pay attention anymore, much less ever pay to watch the new Pirates. I really don’t want that to be the case.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
Me neither. I have not made up my mind yet what Kroenke is doing,but if he is truly being cheap, it’s going to bite him in the ass, at least in Denver. Denver fans like a winner, and are not going to pay to see a perpetually mediocre/ bad team. In short, he’ll have a tough time making money here, at least without revenue sharing. Which long term opens up the possibility of moving the team, which would make me very sad.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
One more
Varly’s save % since October 15th (after the Avs were 5-1)… .865!
Not getting it done at all.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:15 PM MST reply actions
yea, that’s not just getting hung out to dry. at some point you do have to make saves.
Separate question. Do we give him a pass since he’s so young? In doing so do we throw Sacco to the wolves?
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:17 PM MST up reply actions
I don’t know about giving him a complete pass, he’s young, small sample size, and goaltenders slump. It happens.
I just know it’s frustrating, I see a lot of blame heaved at Sacco, some if it warranted, some of it, I think overboard, but I think that goes a long ways to explain the losing on this team.
I guess I’m most frustrated because I actually think this team has improved tremendously since last season, and they are still losing, and that’s just tremendously frustrating. I think Varly’s as much to blame, and probably more so, than most anyone for that frustration.
Like I said, he’ll regress to the mean and pull out of it, but it’s insanely frustrating right now.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:20 PM MST up reply actions
Why throw Sacco to the wolves? He was a top notch AHL coach (winning-est coach for the Lake Erie Monsters), and ONLY has had 2 years and a couple of months to work this out. The man is hamstrung by a lack of talent on this team… I kinda feel bad for him.
Keep shuffling the lines, that will fix it.
by Tony Trujillo on Nov 15, 2011 11:23 PM MST up reply actions
because the team gave up a 1st for Varly. I would guess that because of that, they (the management) believes they can win now. By not winning now, Sacco is not winning friends and making connections with the avalanche brass.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:36 PM MST up reply actions
A top notch AHL coach? He coached two years in LE and had a 60-79-21 record.
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 8:09 AM MST up reply actions
I think there may have been a tinge of sarcasm there, especially the winningest coach part, since you know, he was the fist coach
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Maybe, but I’m tired and had a crappy night last night. So maybe my meter is on the fritz.
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 8:21 AM MST up reply actions
I agree he's not making enough saves
But shot quality could have some effect over as small a sample size as a few games, could it not? I certainly don’t feel he’s played poorly enough to deserve a 0.811 save % in the last couple games. A lot of the goals he’s given up in the last two games have been near impossible to stop, imo.
It’s frustrating, but I think he’ll snap out of it.
by ExiledAmongYou on Nov 15, 2011 11:22 PM MST up reply actions
Absolutley, over a small sample size shot quality can come into effect (and random chance has a huge effect too. Let’s not forget that)
But here’s how I’m looking at it: Does anyone feel like the Avs defense are giving up more, better quality chances than they were last season? Yet Varly’s stats are worse than any goalie from last season…even in the February/MArch hellscape.
I’m venting, I’ll cool off and know that some of Varly’s problems are plain bad luck, but yeesh. Watching the Avs lose because of a combo of unlucky/shitty goaltending is getting really old.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 15, 2011 11:27 PM MST up reply actions
The numbers say otherwise…but it just seems that Varly is playing bettter than Anderson did last year…
The team infront of him is starting to play like they did at the end of the year…
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
Anderson last year with the Avs only: 13-15-3 3.28 and a .897
Varly so far this year: 5-8-1 3.30 and a .890
So they are comparable stat wise. Maybe it’s the flashy saves that Varly makes that make him “seem” like he’s playing better? I don’t know
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Does anyone feel like the Avs defense are giving up more, better quality chances than they were last season?
Over the course of the whole season so far? I certainly don’t. The Calgary game I could see; two of the goals were directly caused by defensive breakdowns.
I think the whole team is just going through a stretch of bad luck/random chance/whatever you want to call it. Varly hasn’t been great, but I don’t think he’s been nearly as bad as a 0.865 save % would indicate.
by ExiledAmongYou on Nov 15, 2011 11:48 PM MST up reply actions
I’m not sure about the quality shot thing, because I don’t really understand how to quantify a quality shot, but the Avs have outshot the opponent 595 to 539, and been outscored 52-60. That means we’ve taken 56 more shots than the opponent, with 8 less goals. Just watching the games, I keep seeing the opponent have more/better chances to score, but that is totally subjective.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
MOZGOD Enthusiast Member 71
Original Thugget Loyalists Member 71
by NastyNessy71 on Nov 16, 2011 1:41 AM MST up reply actions
WAY TO GO BOYS!!!
Great moral win! With the vast experience of coach Mr. Joe Sacco, the top notch defense of our own Erik Johnson, and the unreal goal tending by the Russian sensation Semyon Varlamov, there’s no way we can lose!!! Only losing by 3 goals is a big step forward! Losing by 2, HERE WE COME!!!
Keep shuffling the lines, that will fix it.
you forgot to sign in as burgundy rainbow.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:38 PM MST up reply actions
Has anyone looked ahead on the schedule yet? Unless they remember that they are allowed to win at home they could lose every one of the next 6 games. They are all that good (ie above the avs in the standings). This will be the make or break part of the first 1/2 of the season.
Spoon!!!!!!!!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Nov 15, 2011 11:42 PM MST reply actions
I can’t blame the refs for either of the two losses…but FOR FUCKS SAKE, I don’t give a crap when you put away your whistles or if you never plan on calling a penalty in your existence..
IF AN INFRACTION DIRECTLY RESULTS IN A GOAL, A PENALTY SHOULD BE CALLED.
Both games the GWG was scored when the defender (Avs) was interfered with…Quincey was bearhugged by…gasp..Malkin, the goal scorer! That fact that they were GWG goals only rubs it in even more…not only should the goal not count, but a penalty should be called…it’s fucking moronic.
This doesn’t make any fucking sense…Sacco needs to grow a pair and actually say something…it pisses me off when something this obvious get’s missed by the refs, and Sacco does his ho hum attitude about it.
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
That wasn’t a penalty on Malkin. Not even close
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Upon further review, I retract my statement. That was a penalty.
At that point though, the Avs were starting to play back on their heels…the usual try to hold on type of mentality
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
10 Thoughts
1. We started on time. But it didn’t last very long. Hello 5 unanswered goals. F my life.
2. The Avs are a deadly team when they are in a run and gun game. Bylsma figured that out. The Pens are good enough that they can play a puck possession game as well. The Avs, not so much.
3. Sacco, sigh. There were weird bounces, but there were a lot of breakdowns too. Even if the players are tuning him out, even if the goals weren’t directly his fault… it’s getting to the point where something needs to give. I don’t think Sherman is ready to pull the trigger on anyone yet. But one of our coaches will probably be looking for a new job before Christmas if nothing changes. And honestly, I think Lefebvre deserves to go before Sacco.
4. 12th in the West. Still. And back to 14th if Anaheim and Calgary win. Old, friendly, 14th in the West. I feel like this team has been there before.
5. At this point, I don’t even care about playing a complete 60 minutes. I would just like to see a game where the Avs didn’t embarrass themselves for a period or two. How can a team look so good and so bad in the same game? Will the real Colorado Avalanche please step forward?
6. 2-7-1. That’s our record over the past 10 games. 2-6-0. That’s our record at home. 8. That’s the number of home games we have after facing the Wild on Thursday.
7. It’s early in the season, but even with our new Captain, I have to wonder what this sort of streak is doing to the psyche in our locker room. We’re talking about a bunch of young guys that don’t know how to bounce back from stuff like this. We saw a similar slip last season – how many of them are starting to think "here we go again?" And this year, we can’t even blame injuries. Sure, we can make other excuses – Pittsburgh is a good team, Calgary has our number, Detroit is Detroit, Dallas is on a hot streak, etc – but sooner or later, these players are going to start looking in the mirror. Confidence is our biggest asset – we ARE a good team when we BELIEVE we are a good team, like we did in the first period. But our young guys get rattled so easily by letting in the first goal or letting in a bad goal that they forget it and start to hesitate. The toughest opponent this team will face this year is themselves. Right now, we’re losing.
8. Yes, the refs were bad. Yes, a lot of the calls were one sided. But good teams can still deal with that and find a way to win. Good teams figure out a way to stay out of the box even when the calls are fairly light. Good teams have power plays that looked like ours did in the first, not like it did in the third.
9. Varly looked great in the first, okay in the second, and almost non-existent in the third. He seemed frustrated and flustered, and with the defense in front of him, I can’t blame him. The guy is only 23 though – he’s just as young as everyone else in our locker room. We NEED to get him a coach, someone there all the time, someone who he can confide in and someone who can help him without competing against him. He’s our future. We need to do everything we can to help him out.
10. My roommate brought a fuzzy poster into my room right after the loss and asked me to help her color it. It is impossible to be pissed off about anything after about 15 minutes of coloring a fuzzy poster. Especially when it’s a rainbow dragon that includes silver and gold and shading and around 100 different marker colors.
Just a Colorado girl in Montana who ♥s the Avs.
Varly: you're awesome. We love you. Please don't break.
Bylsma figured that out.
Why does Sacco get continuously outcoached by everyone?
Middle gets clogged up = LOSS. He has no answer to that…
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
This reminds me of Winkler in The Waterboy. It’s like Sacco is reading Hockey for Dummies and other teams know this.
by quietstorm560 on Nov 16, 2011 2:25 AM MST up reply actions
You presumptuous little so and so!
Where do you get off thinking that Sacco can read?!?
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
A few things before bed
1) We gave up 6 goals, that is a team effort. No one person is without blame. Sacco, Varley, heck even Duchene, and that guy was great tonight in the first two periods. I have defended Varley in this thread, but let me paraphrase what I said the other night. Kipper won that game we only gave up 20 shots but a goalie was given a kings ransom and I want a King. He needs to find a way to make those big saves.
2) I want our best players playing top 6 minutes with top 6 talent. This means:
Duchene-SOS-Duke— They were fast and was impressive.
Landy-Radar-Jones— I cannot stand seeing another pass go in front of the net and having Winnik miss it because his stick is up near his eyebrows or he is back on the blue line. No more dang it.
3) I do not want to see Johnson and Hejda. Holy heck, Sacco how many games do you need to see for this combination does not work.
4) SOS was a stud on the goal to Duchene. How did that amazing goal happen. SOS separated Letang and made a brilliant play. Did we see it again this night, yes when the Penguins did it to us the entire third.
5) Can some one please tell me why the Avs are never in front of the net when the pass comes out of the corner. Or why the Avs in their entire existence cannot put their sticks on the ice when driving the net.
The Jones thing is killing me. It’s not like we’re breaking up Van Halen with Sammy Hagar here.
by Pinchy The Lobster on Nov 16, 2011 12:39 AM MST up reply actions
Sammy Hagar sucks so bad.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:48 AM MST up reply actions
Especially when the “thirst” line hasn’t been that great lately. Can we break it up now? Please?
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
by BraxtanFILM on Nov 16, 2011 12:04 PM MST up reply actions
EVERYONE CALM DOWN!
It’s not like we’re losing games or anything…
Keep shuffling the lines, that will fix it.
I have resorted to finding the score of the game before I hit “play” on the DVR.
by Pinchy The Lobster on Nov 16, 2011 12:11 AM MST reply actions
Just don’t watch the 3rd and you’ll be okay.
Just a Colorado girl in Montana who ♥s the Avs.
Varly: you're awesome. We love you. Please don't break.
I just saved an extra 60 minutes of my life that I can use on something productive like Waiting for Diablo3 to come out.
by Pinchy The Lobster on Nov 16, 2011 12:26 AM MST up reply actions
Warning borderline maths
So I took all the goals this season, except for first goals of the game because there’s nothing to compare it to, and checked how long it had been since the last goal for and goal against (from the Avs perspective). These were rounded to the nearest minute because Excel doesn’t like mm:ss format for anything except an actual time of day, so 28:37 for example just fucking confused it shitless. Mean and standard dev didn’t tell me anything so I made frequency tables and checked for skew.
What you’re about to see is graphs of those frequency charts. (Suddenly it occurs to me my labels are fucking terrible if they exist at all. Noted.) First up is goals against. Sorry I’m shit at explaining this kind of thing so bear with me: The x-axis is minutes since the last goal in question, and the y is number of goals scored that many minutes after. The blue line is how long ago the last Avs goal would have been, and the red line is how long ago the last goal against would have been. So, in this next chart, for example, 1 GA has been scored 1 minute after the last GA, and 2 GA have been scored 4 minutes after the last Avs goal. Sorry, sorry, if you’re unfamiliar with this stuff I hope that helped, otherwise someone else is gonna have to step in.
There’s not much of a pattern here in terms of the last Avs goal (blue). It’s actually a fairly bell-curve-shaped graph lacking outliers. However, notice that the graph for time since last goal against is skewed toward zero. That shows that a disproportionate amount of goals against are scored within a few minutes of the last goal against. Put simply, the Avs give up goals in bunches, and here’s proof.
Now let’s look at goals for. Again, the blue is since last GF and the red is since last GA. This graph runs a bit longer because Ottawa scored first.
This shows some real streakiness on the Avs’ part offensively. Put bluntly, if the Avs haven’t scored in 15 game minutes, it’s reasonable to assume they’re probably done potting goals for the night. Sadfax, but trufax. The same also seems to go the other way and highlights the Avs’ run and gun preferences: If you’ve scored recently, the Avs are likely to strike back soon. If you haven’t scored recently, and neither have we, bizarrely, we don’t seem to be the one to re-open scoring. Go figure.
This is a catastrophically small sample size given how wide the range of numbers is here, as a frequency distribution based on percentages of the whole would show. However, significant trends are emerging that, to me, indicate this team scores in bunches, and then gives goals back in bunches. It’s exciting hockey but it isn’t real successful.
It's all about the O'
Thanks for the work!
This took me a bit of figuring out, but it does make sense, for sure, and really interesting you thought this up. Impressive. Watching the Avs is backed up by your research. We seem to play fast and hard, for certain periods of time, then turn to crap, so we play like jekyl and hyde, score goals quickly, then give ‘em quicker. Let’s see…3-1 1st period….4-0 period 3. Yep, it works for Pens game.
...holy freaking f*ck, snakes!
Well
at least Duchene was the 2nd best play on SC’s top 10. I think it might be time to break up the 3rd line. I like the Duchene Stats Duke line… I don’t understand the Lindstrom Galliardi Jones line. Why not put Jones with Landy and O’Reilly on the second line and then fiddle around with your 3rd and 4th lines instead of constantly messing with your top 6? I don’t understand that. O’Reilly grinds, Landy crashes and Jones snipes… thats a perfect combo in my opinion. O’reilly plays behind the red line, Landy in front of the net and Jones in the high slot… Then you got a legit top 6 corps and then focus on improving your D. Rather it’s trade, promotion/demotion of players or simply switching the pairs up something obviously has to be done. Maybe im just stupid and have no idea what im talking about but obviously whats working right now is not working. Change things up. All I know is Galliardi and Lindstrom are not top 6 forwards… that needs to change immediately
MOZGOD Enthusiast Member 71
Original Thugget Loyalists Member 71
obviously whats on the ice now is not working**
MOZGOD Enthusiast Member 71
Original Thugget Loyalists Member 71
by NastyNessy71 on Nov 16, 2011 1:38 AM MST up reply actions
i don't even remember
it wasn’t a hockey play tho so no.
MOZGOD Enthusiast Member 71
Original Thugget Loyalists Member 71
by NastyNessy71 on Nov 16, 2011 8:11 AM MST up reply actions
Hey, my signature hasn’t changed in weeks. Good to see everyone starting to see the light!
Landeskog - O'Reilly - Jones. When.
by BraxtanFILM on Nov 16, 2011 12:07 PM MST up reply actions
What I saw tonight was basically we thought that 3 goals would be enought against the Pens. Not the case, this is a team that has battled through injuries and won—take note Avalanche fans who like to lean on the injury excuse. This is a team that is tested and knows what it takes to win, not just playing to not lose. Giving up 5 unanswered goals is something that young teams do—we’re the youngest in the league. But it is on coaching, schemes and systems to rebound past this.
The points are valid on Varley. Something is amiss, and it’s not Chris Stewart sleeping with his ladybird. The defense is suspect for sure. But at the same time, when you look at last year and you look at this year, the only constant is the coaching staff. Time to take a legitimate look at it and see where it’s holes are and fix them. Because you have no reason to tank this season when Washington has your 1st and 2nd round picks.
I can understand and even swallow this loss to Pittsburgh, an Eastern conference team. But Minnesota and the next home stretch will determine how the rest of this
oops, got cut off…
season plays out. Without those draft picks we do NOT have the luxury of just waiting it out. When you trade away building blocks, it’s no longer a rebuild—it’s win now.
by quietstorm560 on Nov 16, 2011 2:43 AM MST up reply actions
Lets see, the good news:
Duchene had a nice goal
Craig Anderson had a 2010’esque game and kept up from sharing the division basement with Calgary
Bad news:
Ummm, everything else?
Landeskog was awful in this game
Varly just looks out of his element all of the sudden
MA Fluery gave up some juicy rebounds after the Avs already had a lead, but the Avs shots started coming from way outside, and the Pens D was there to clear the garbage before one of the Avs could get there
Etc….
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Landy was awful, but who puts a rookie out there against the top players in the league. Do you really expect much different
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 6:50 AM MST up reply actions
When the rookie is one of the more polished defensive forwards we have…that’s when you put him out there. It happens, but he got victimized badly, twice
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Sacco blows.
Had a long post but switching tabs on the iPad erased it, so fuck you iPad. In short, Sacco has no game plans, can’t make in game adjustments, and his timeouts are useless. He like that little kid that tries to force the square peg in the round hole.
No more excuses of hot team/goalie blah blah blah. Start owning up to your suckiness. Bryzgalov called himself out after that 9-8 Jets game and has gone 4-0-1 without giving up more than 2 goals in any of those games. Let’s take some responsibility here, fucking grow up.
I'd still make that trade for Varlamov and I still love the Dutchy Shuffle.
I really don’t think Varly has been all that bad. He’s had some just barely above average games, like tonight, but he’s no where near Budaj territory from last year. It’s our D that just gets completely broken down in a lot of these situations. I wouldn’t pin a single loss this year solely on Varly. He’s not giving us miraculously stellar goaltending at the moment, but that should’nt be the expectation.
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. - Kv
by MalachiConstant on Nov 16, 2011 6:29 AM MST reply actions
At some point though he stops making the routine saves that keep the team in the game. You can’t second guess the trade at this point because it’s done…and Varly has been good at times, but he hasn’t been good lately.
I put the stats above. Last year we were all on the “WTF is wrong with Anderson” train…his stats with the Avs were slightly better (very slightly) than Varly’s are right now. The D last year was just as bad.
So while the D has now sucked for two straight years…the goalies have to be held accountable for some of it as well
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
I’m definitely ok saying he’s accountable somewhat. Just disagreeing with the “Varly suuucckks” comments.
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. - Kv
by MalachiConstant on Nov 16, 2011 7:07 AM MST up reply actions
Lately…he has sucked. He seems to have one good period a game. Funny enough, so does the entire team
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
He’s not giving us miraculously stellar goaltending at the moment, but that should’nt be the expectation.
That’s how he was billed though- a supremely talented keeper who could be an all star if healthy. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of all star caliber goaltending.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
Still on this
Ben Scrivens is an AHL calibre goaltender
Ben Scrivens plays behind a crappy defense that gives up a ton of bad scoring opportunities
Ben Scrivens has a .904 Sv%
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 7:07 AM MST reply actions 2 recs
Starting at the Edmonton loss (the previous game was a Chicago win where Varly gave up 4, but two off his own guys). Varlamov has been 1-6-1 with a 3.75 GAA and a .847 Save%
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Craig Anderson is a below average NHL calibre goaltender
Craig Anderson plays behind the unquestionable worst defense in the league
Craig Anderson’s Save% is .894
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 7:43 AM MST up reply actions
And that’s up from the high .7’s early on.
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
ooh, can I do one?
As of today, the Avalanche Capitals would have the 7th overall pick in the draft. However, they are just two points away from the 3rd overall pick.
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 7:50 AM MST up reply actions
All this has me thinking……that this isn’t a very good team
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
This game was less than outstanding.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
I am angry and pissed off but annoyingly optimistic. I just don’t get it. The offense is doing great, but something needs to give. Varly is not letting in soft goals, per se, just goals in general and the defense needs to be fixed. I just don’t understand.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
Check out the Korpikowski goal against phoenix, or the Cleary goal against Detroit, or the Letang goal last night. He’s let in some softies. (And those were just ones I noticed in checkign a couple game highlights, I haven’t done a thorough scrub of the goals)
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 8:18 AM MST up reply actions
Agreed. He has let in sfoties. But I think his goals are more a result of bad defensive play more than bad goaltending.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
I’m not sure I agree with that.
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 8:23 AM MST up reply actions
I disagree with everyone.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
I disagree with your disagreement.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
You know what, I am on vicodin at work right now. All I know is that I would make that Varly trade 10 times out of 10.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
I wrote the recap on vicodin
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 8:29 AM MST up reply actions
I invented Vicodin with Al Gore
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
But will Al Gore give you any credit?
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 8:34 AM MST up reply actions
Since I’m currently working for a poverty level salary in radio… that should answer itself
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Just two thing to add
1) Duchene’s goal was a thing of beauty! That move alone was worth watching the game! The D had no chance!
2) Speaking of D, why do they no longer play the body? Even on the Jones goal, the D was going for the puck with two hands on his stick. Had he played they Jones’ body, not a fancy hip check, but just putting yourself infront of him and putting on the breaks while directing the player away from the puck. Basic D moves. One hand on the stick, other hand up, watch the guys chest and take him out of the play! Defense first and then offense. Am I missing something here? This seems to be league wide.
"Hockey is a man's game. The team with the most real men wins." - Brian Burke
Sounds like everybody’s afraid of getting suspended.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
Suspended! I am not talking about a huge hit! Just taking the guy out of the play by tying him up!!!
"Hockey is a man's game. The team with the most real men wins." - Brian Burke
Avs get a penalty every time
Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 16, 2011 8:57 AM MST up reply actions
Quincey has me worried. He’s extremely inconsistent. O’Bryne has been equally awful but with bonus crappy penalties. I know on O’Neil’s goal that O’Brien could have done a better job but up until later in that 3rd period I though he was playing his best game as an Avalanche player. His 5v3 defensive effor was incredible. EJ was solid and seems to be getting better and better every game.
O’Bryne is a guy I’d sit for Elliott. I’d protect Quincey against top six as well.
Varley had a lot of buzzard’s luck but some of that is his own doing. The Dupuis garbage goal was created by his rebound that he couldn’t corral. I was watching some Roy highlights and he gave up the same kind of rebounds all the time. The difference is, he didn’t dive on top of the puck. He just stayed square to the rebound and a lot of his saves were done two at a time. It was almost demoralizing how he’d stop the puck and it would sit there three feet in front of him and he would allow the second shot attempt with absolutely no room for the shot. There seems to be a very intentional effort from the goalies under Sacco to cover the puck and get faceoffs. I’m not sure that’s working out so well, no matter how good the Avs are at faceoffs.
I'll keep this brief.
Quincey has been pretty bad defensively all year so far…but he had made it up with some slick offensive skill. But he has been victimized a lot on the other side of the puck
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Don’t know if I’d characterize it as “pretty bad”. He’s had a handful of awful games (when not protected) and a handful games were he was the best in his own end and at the other end of the ice. He definately has a threshold to his effectiveness though. I think a team as deep as the Pens is not on something our defense corp or bottom six forwards can compare with.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Maybe he gets the pretty bad monicker from me, because when he gets beat, he gets beat bad. Maybe the glaring mistakes are clouding the rest of his defensive play
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
How many times did Roy try to absorb pucks in to his body or dive on a loose puck in front of him? Not often.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHI7zxEdK7M
Controlled rebounds. Lots of them.
I'll keep this brief.
Also noteworthy in that video: how crazy dangerous it was for opposing players to even be near the Avalanche net. Defenders everywhere, preventing rebound shots and cutting down angles. Team effort.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
And another observation: Holmstrom getting punched in the face by Roy’s statute of liberty at 3:54. Somebody needs to make a .gif of that.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
I’m going to need some alone time with these videos, I think.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
heh, but seriously Roy trusted his defense to take care of non-glove saves. He kept the clock moving. It’s a very different goaltending philosophy than we’ve seen with all the goalies under Sacco. It appears theat Sacco wants a faceoff at every opportunity.
Mike could answer this better but I think when a goalie is trying to absorb a 100% of the rebounds and trying to suck the puck in, it can lead to just as many if not more problems than just controlling a rebound and getting ready to make another save.
I'll keep this brief.
Another thing about rebounds (controlled or not), it gives your own team the chance to recover the puck and keep it moving. With the opposing team totally committed to scoring, a quick outlet pass from the defense on a rebound can lead to a 2-on-1 the other way (or even a breakaway). Smothering the puck and getting a face-off in your own zone only gives the opposing team the chance to set up in your zone and makes your own breakout that much harder.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
Is that a sacco thing or just the style of goalies we’ve had? Because I mean, small sample size and possible confirmation bias, but looking back I think of a lot if times giguere wouldn’t cover a rebound, and hes won 4 games.
It's all about the O'
by SteveHouse on Nov 16, 2011 9:06 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
I’d be more inclined to pin it on the goalies themselves rather than a coaching strategy, but with the Avs so good in the circle this year, it wouldn’t surprise me if Sacco was telling them to smother it whenever possible.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
It’s a goalie thing most likely. It’s a comfort issue, mostly. He takes the shot and removes second chances. That’s a low probability scoring opportunity for the opposition. If he was more comfortable putting the puck back in play in front of his D, maybe the story would be different.
However, I’d put money on the fact that Sacco and Co. have stressed that they don’t want to get into footraces with teams like Pitt, Chicago, Dallas and that FO’s are better than the alternative and smothering the puck is a viable game management strategy.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
If he was more comfortable putting the puck back in play in front of his D, maybe the story would be different.
Exactly what I was going to say. Maybe he doesn’t trust his guys to clear it out?
You have watched the Avs for some time now…their ability to clear anything is “less than outstanding”
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Not sure if that’s true or not. It’s more personal than that. Maybe he got burned a lot in Washington. Maybe it stems from PeeWee’s. Who knows? Maybe there has been an emphasis on FO’s in Colorado.
Many goalies (myself included), FUCKING HATE putting the puck back into play even in low-threat situations. I just did my job and I rarely trust the pylons in front of me to not make me regret it with a quick turnover, bad pass, shit decision, etc. By taking the whistle, I control the flow, even if it’s for a couple of seconds.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Could it be we’re seeing Varly having issues with the D due to communication issues? I mean, before the season started it was known his english skills were poor.
I’m not sure Varly is a communicator. I haven’t seen him live. Some goalie talk to their D during the play. Other’s don’t. Maybe vtcapsfanstalker2011 can chime in?
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
I know a goalie that tends to shout to everyone on the ice, and they tend to ignore him. Maybe Varly has this issue too.
Mike is a hammer who only sees nails.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:51 AM MST up reply actions
I can always tell when he’s having a really bad game by how quiet he gets. Absolute silence = completely given up
Absolute silence =completely given upthese fuckers can’t play defense
Fixed.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
I don’t shout random shit, I’m telling them about forecheckers, 2-on-1’s, cherry pickers, pressure, pass-out options, backdoor threats, etc.
Unfortunately, I also end up saying stuff like “Don’t pass it up the middle!!”, “Inside out!”, “You’ve got not HELP!”, “OUCH!!”, and “Skate motherfucker!”
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
But that also could be a reason why he is not able to develop a chemistry with the rest of the group, in washington he had ovechkin and semin to make him feel one of the boys. I don’t know, I’m still not sold on the idea that Varlamov sucks.
No one is saying he sucks overall. But sucks lately? Yes
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Varlystalker here reporting for duty! Sorry I was busy working all day.
I don’t think Varly is much of a communicator on ice, not that I recall, especially not at first before he really knew much English. His English is decent enough for him to communicate on ice if he was so inclined. Plus I think the D/goalies can usually yell out one word simple phrases and get the job done. I seem to recall an interview with a Caps defenseman who said they kept it simple with the communication on ice and it worked fine, that was probably his first season here before he really spoke much English. His English is fine now.
I did see an interview where he said he communicated with Ovie and Semin and the other Russian players on ice in Russian.
Very clever
a very subtle “rebound control” post for Mike (then again, I agree with you too)
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 9:01 AM MST up reply actions
See my post above. I don’t see it as a rebound control (it’s a myth, like virgins in sororities), he’s off his angle and giving up an element of control because of it. He has a hyperactive style. He recovers quickly and moves fast and is ridiculously athletic. That’s his style. Unfortunately, while you get some great split saves and sick glove saves, you also run the risk of being off angle, scrambly and chaotic in traffic.
There is a common held belief that all rebounds are bad rebounds. That isn’t true. A rebound two to five feet right back in front of you where you’re already square isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Panic-y defenses with that style can cause problems for that however. Look at it in the context of the Roy videos above: His defense didn’t panic, drop to the ice, run around. Both goalie and defense played to each other’s strengths.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
I don’t see it as a rebound control (it’s a myth, like virgins in sororities)
Honest question, no sarcasm: if rebound control is such a myth, why do goaltenders and coaches say things like, “Need to improve on controlling the rebounds”?
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:25 AM MST up reply actions
IMO
It’s a cliche, just like “playing a full 60 minutes”, “showing up on time”, and “gripping the stick too tight.” It’s shorthand to describe something else.
MINI RANT:
The vast majority of coaches and management in the NHL (as well as a healthy amount of the veteran netminders) have only been exposed to modern goaltending techniques over the past 20 years. That seems like a lot, but not compared to the 100+ years of skate saves and waffleboards. Dedicated goaltending coaches are also a modern phenomenon (maybe 8-10 year with widespread use). Certainly goaltending coaching during player development is a fairly recent trend.
Part of it is semantics on my part, I’ll admit. However, “control” of rebounds is dubious. Containment is a little better term, but really it’s all about your position prior to the shot and your save selection. Rarely do you have an opportunity to direct a shot’s rebound at will. You position yourself so that the rebound will go to the corners, up into the netting or along the goal line. You don’t physically direct or steer the puck with an athletic motion. It’s just physics. You’re playing probabilities and tendencies, just as you are in you initial positioning and save selection. To characterize it as an independent aspect of the play isn’t entirely accurate in my opinion. Poor positioning and save selection leads to bad rebounds. Good positioning and valid save selection leads to good/no rebounds. It’s not as if you make a good save in a great position and give up a bad rebound. Therefore divorcing rebound control from the initiators of positioning and save selection is inaccurate in my opinion.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
It’s a cliche, just like "playing a full 60 minutes", "showing up on time", and "gripping the stick too tight." It’s shorthand to describe something else.
Shot quality
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 9:49 AM MST up reply actions
Body language
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Compete level.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
Puck poise
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Lindstrom is an NHL forward.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 9:52 AM MST up reply actions
Ah, see, when I think “he needs to work on his rebound control,” I immediately think “positioning needs to improve.” I guess that’s why I never understood the problem with using that term. Looking at it from the perspective you said above, I get your frustration.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 9:58 AM MST up reply actions
Here’s one for you Mike. I’m a right-handed goalie. Do I use my dominant right hand for my glove or my stick?
Is it better to have more control on the stick or in my catching hand?
"Wisdom requires a flexible mind" - Dan Carlin
by Nemesis44UK on Nov 16, 2011 4:40 PM MST via iPhone app up reply actions
Depends on your history. I’m also right-handed, but I played baseball, therefore I catch with my left. To do otherwise in hockey seams really awkward. Handling the puck is an issue due to the curve of the stick, but you learn. If you have the coordination to catch with your right then more power to you. Welcome to the world of full-right goalies (I know, it makes no sense…). Good luck finding equipment!
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Well we are winning face offs with more consistency this year so maybe that’s why?
by quietstorm560 on Nov 16, 2011 8:50 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I will say though, with how bad the play has been in November, it could be ALOT worse. At least there is time to rebound come December and onward.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
you forget:
8 game homestand still coming
Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 16, 2011 8:58 AM MST up reply actions
Right and after that it will be nearing December 1st and I can fairly judge this team.
A man who stole my whisky used the defense that no one could resist a bottle of Scotch. I had no choice but to testify on his behalf.
It’s possible the standings will make any kind of fair judgment a moot point.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
Yeah, I’m using 8-9-1 to judge them right now, and it’s not going well for them.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
Give Giguere three of the next four starts
Not the Friday game, of course, because of the back to back. But Varly needs to relax a bit. It can’t be easy to play knowing that you are going to be the butt of a thousand recycled Phil Kessel jokes.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
On Varly
I’m not joking at all here. The last two games he has looked like Denis Lemieux from Slap Shot. Skittish. Jumping at pucks that aren’t even there yet. Not knowing where the puck is until it is behind him wide or in the back of the net. To me, the question right now is, did we trade a (probably high) first and a second for damaged goods, or are we damaging the goods?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
Option B.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
Season slogan
Crapping for the Caps?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
Vaulting Varley’s Value.
Mile High Hockey: The Avs are so young, we had to hire Chris Hansen as a site moderator.
Nailing it in for someone else?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:07 AM MST up reply actions
Wasting for Washington?
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Nov 16, 2011 10:14 AM MST up reply actions
Caps, Floor, or Bust.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
McPhee McPhucked Us
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:38 AM MST up reply actions 1 recs
Varlamov was terrible last night. Not looking good, hope he can turn it around. Nothing much else to say here imo, goaltending is what it is.
I want to discuss the so-called thirst line. Can we be done with this now? Please? Can we stop having Winnik flub opportunity after opportunity offensively? Can Jones stop languishing in in the bottom 6? Can we have a real shutdown line instead of this watered down half shutdown half scoring line thing?
Duchene – Stastny – Hejduk
Landeskog – O’Reilly – Jones
Gali – McClement – Winnik
McLeod – Malone – Kobasew (ooh callup)
by thedoctor on Nov 16, 2011 9:58 AM MST reply actions 1 recs
I approve of the lack of Lindstrom. Addition by subtraction, you know.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:00 AM MST up reply actions
Totally agree. And I like your lines.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:00 AM MST up reply actions
I agree. The whole “Keep them together while it’s working” approach was fine. It’s not working anymore. You’ve made an adjustment for Duchene, now make one for Jones and play to your other forwards strengths.
Lindstrom’s value at this point is only on the PP and that’s mainly so that there will be some skill for the second unit.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
He is fairly effective at stalling the PP with careful indecision at the point or weak shots 3 feet wide of the net.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:06 AM MST up reply actions
He’s also fairly effective at being ineffective at covering the puck near his crease.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
If he’d just played his man correctly, that play never would have happened. Can’t defend from behind…
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
If GS had signed a competent top 6er instead of #28, that play never would have happened. But I digress.
Honestly, if you aren’t going to use your stick to bat the puck out of the crease, you should fall on the damn thing effectively and not all half assed like he did.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
He’s even afraid of making contact with the ice. Good Roy he is horrible.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 1:01 PM MST up reply actions
This seems so logical, why is it not for everyone
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 10:15 AM MST up reply actions
just a couple weeks ago i brought this up and everyone flipped out that i was breaking up the thirst line. Winnik on that line is not a recipe for long term success, plain and simple.
A couple of weeks ago
1. it was still working
2. giving Landeskog continuity was good for his adjustment into the NHL
Now
1. it’s not working at all
2. Landeskog has adjusted
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:41 AM MST up reply actions
see, now that’s the kind of stuff I just hate from sports analysis. something is clearly wrong, but “it’s working, don’t touch it!” without thinking long term. Reminds me of how bridge collapses and massive engineering failures happen. Don’t touch it! Sorry, I think that’s complete poppycock. When there’s an issue, you fix it, whether or not short term result-noise is hiding the issue.
Plus I don’t see what difference having Winnik vs. Duchene or Jones on Landeskog’s other wing has to do with his development or adjustment. If you’re referring to reduced roles, he’s been in just as large a role since day 1 on the RoR line.
Exactly. Only those who stand on the tracks get hit by the train.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 11:23 AM MST up reply actions
No, I was referring to consistency, not juggling that line and giving Landeskog a different line mate every two or three games.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 11:54 AM MST up reply actions
That is why I didn’t say anything because I knew it would got the response that it got. I was thinking about that when Mules went out.
by avalanchejef on Nov 16, 2011 11:44 AM MST up reply actions
Rec’d for inherent truthiness.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
Though I would consider letting Kobasuck get some quality nacho time in favor of * gasp * Porter.
Yeah, that bad.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
As Triumph would say, “It’s like arguing which poop smells less.”
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 1:11 PM MST up reply actions
I agree with Bob on this point, but will entertain your wager doc. Name your stakes.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
Greg Sherman.....
he’s our Brian Burke.
But almost….. I mean, it’s not like we gave up 2 first rounders for Varlmey
I still don’t think we’ll be deep in the lottery. Varlamov will either get better or they will play Giguere who will be better. Average level goaltending will solve a lot of what ills this team, IMO.
Not that there’s not other problems, but I doubt the microscope would be out so badly if Varly were playing at even an AHL level.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 10:43 AM MST up reply actions
I’m looking forward to seeing more Jiggy starts. I’m totally and absolutely biased, of course.
Duchene may be the face of this franchise, but O’Reilly is the heart. - Guitarpick8120
by Cheryl Bradley on Nov 16, 2011 10:45 AM MST up reply actions
He seemed like a super nice guy at the meet the team party. Honestly, he did.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 10:48 AM MST up reply actions
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad thing about Giggy, except from NJ fans who are still butthurt that he won the Conn Smythe
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
Giggy was dying to score goals on the air hockey tables. I was beating Dutchy until I scored on my own goal and the handler called time.
by quietstorm560 on Nov 16, 2011 9:02 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Giguere is healthy and motivated. He’s still playing as if he were a starter in order to get back to being a starter, if not here, then somewhere. People bring up age, but he’s still many years younger than a few big time performers from last year’s playoffs.
Not once this season or preseason has he looked lost. I think if given the opportunity to grab the wheel of this team, he might not let go.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
This^ I love Varly but Giguere seems calm in net. Almost too calm sometimes but he makes the stops somehow. I almost don’t think he is going to be able to get over in time for a shot but he does. I think teams like pitt have varly figured out because of how much he moves. Giggy might have been better in that game just because Pitt sees him a LOT less than they have seen Varly. Interesting thought.. Hemm maybe the coach should of thought of that?
All I want is a 900+ save % and a 2.5 GAA.
I don’t care who gives it to me…….Santa.
I'll keep this brief.
Santa is a battler, but his lateral movement is shit. Needs to work on his pilates.
Also, he doesn’t do well on back-to-back nights.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Easter Bunny has shown he has game, but will lay the occasional egg.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
The Great Pumpkin is big enough to fill the net, but I hear after a few hard shots, he gets holes in him.
Datsyuk may have done it first, but he learned it from Peter Forsberg.
Thanks for everything Foppa!
Footer: We'll miss seeing you clear the riff raff off your lawn.
by Americanario on Nov 16, 2011 11:37 AM MST up reply actions
Kwanzaabot could be an interesting addition, but he’s been left languishing in obscurity
It's all about the O'
We’ve had Mr. Hanky quality goaltending for the better part of the past few seasons now.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 11:41 AM MST up reply actions
sorry, that was dumb
We all know that Mr. Hanky wears 44 for the wings.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 11:44 AM MST up reply actions
Amen
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Nov 16, 2011 11:11 AM MST up reply actions
Game summary pic
Lucy would have done a better job of clearing or covering that damn puck than Lindstrom’s sorry ass did.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
Did you know that Kobasew is one of only 3 forwards that we have signed beyond this season?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 2:15 PM MST up reply actions
It’s shit like that which prevents me from promoting your writings to the front page.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Because you’re mad that you didn’t write it first?
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 3:32 PM MST up reply actions
Between Debbie Downer and Negative Nancy, you’re on the fast track for Betty Bummer.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Mike makes everyone sad.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Nov 16, 2011 4:07 PM MST up reply actions
Jiggy in goal tomorrow according to Dater
Cap Floor Team = Cap Floor Results
by Cole D Hamilton on Nov 16, 2011 2:01 PM MST reply actions 2 recs
As he should be. I don’t think we should celebrate it, per say…
Aebischer. Nope. Salo? Ha! Sauve? Nah. Theodore. Meh. Kolesnik? Hey bud, nice shootout against the Devils, but no. Budaj? You kidding? Anderson, close, but no cigar. Elliott? GET THE TANK!!! Varlamov and Giguere? To the playoffs...AND BEYOND!!
40 goal scorer Chris Stewart got a three game suspension. That’s going to put a dent in his production, like a 20 goal dent.
I'll keep this brief.
Only if those three games coincided with three games he would have given a shit.
If we don't get our sauce, we ain't watching the game!
Do I remember someone here wanting a gif of the Duchene beauty?
I got you one
It's all about the O'
by SteveHouse on Nov 16, 2011 5:00 PM MST reply actions 5 recs
I’ll rec this when it’s in a winning game.
"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck" -Obi Wan Kenobi
I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink
to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?
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