FanPost

The Avs Keep Rolling...my first fanpost


Wow, another seven goal game, another win, another drubbing of an overmatched team. Even with the absence of Nazem Kadri, the Avs blitzed a clearly overwhelmed Red Wings side. The Avs came out like they were shot out of a maglev gun, skating circles around Detroit and creating scoring chances and goals almost at will.

Since November 11, the Avs are 11-3, averaging 5.14 goals per game with a total score of 74-47. In this stretch the Avs are allowing 3.5 goals/game. If you take away the Toronto disaster, the goals allowed since 11-11 is 3.0. While 5 goals a tilt is simply unsustainable, in theory, this offensive barrage needs to continue because the next handful of games look brutal. Between now and New Years Day, the Avs will play Florida, NYR, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Detroit, Buffalo, Boston, and home & away against Dallas. Of those teams only Buffalo sits with less than 28 points and out of a playoff spot.

If the Avs want to continue their winning ways, the defense needs shoring up and sharpish. They also need to cut down on the turnovers and improve the power play, which went 0 for 3 last night with only three SOG, which all came in a five second storm during the third period PP. The powerplay is struggling against the more aggressive PK’s in the league. The solution to the PP woes are seemingly elusive but if you look deeper into the picture, there are disturbing trends. Alex Newhook only had 2:05 toi on the powerplay while Logan O’Connor had ZERO. Despite playing almost exclusively with L1 last night, O’Connor was frozen out of the powerplay, a mistake IMNHO.

What isn’t a concern anymore is the quality from the Avs best and most important players. From Cale Makar to Nathan MacKinnon, the star power has gone supernova. Makar padded his lead for scoring among defensemen with an assist and an empty netter. MacKinnon has shaken off the rust and looks down right nasty. His one timer was a thing of beauty. Rantanen extends his scoring streak to ten games. But the star of the game was Burakovsky. He got two goals and at times was a monster defensively.

How valuable has Devon Toews become? Simply put, he’s one the Avs most important and reliable players. For him to return and look better than ever is a huge bonus. Very quietly, he leads all NHL defensemen in points per game with a minimum of ten played, with Makar at number two. They’re both averaging better than a point a game, something only Victor Hedman, Roman Josi, Adam Fox can brag, and those three have all won a Norris Trophy. Devon had three assists last night and played essentially perfect defense. Toews has been brilliant.

Wanna know how important J.T. Compher is? Hugely important, just look at his TOI last night. He led all skaters in PP & PK minutes, with 7:29 minutes of special teams action. He netted a goal and was 5-1 on faceoffs. Compher has drawn the ire of some Avs fans for being inconsistent and a sketchy scorer. What is inarguable though is his versatility and value. He’s simply a great third line center and maybe one of the best bottom six forwards in the NHL.

I’ll pose a few questions for our resident motherpuckers…

Was Rantanen playing L2 a demotion or was it Bednar’s wonky line combo management?

Are we okay with O’Connor getting L1 minutes?

Is Darcy Kuemper the answer in net?

Should Makar and Toews get split up when Bowen Byram returns?

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