Avs and Flames get to pick things up from last postseason.
Unfortunately, the game will likely be blacked out for most of the local viewers (and me as well), barring some literal last-minute deal between Altitude and the main carriers.
Lineups!
AVALANCHE Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen Tyson Jost - Nazem Kadri - Andre Burakovsky Matthew Nieto - J.T. Compher - Joonas Donskoi Matt Calvert - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Valeri Nichushkin
Sam Girard - Erik Johnson Nikita Zadorov - Cale Makar Ryan Graves - Conor Timmins
Phillipp Grubauer Pavel Francouz
Scratches: Mark Barberio, Colin Wilson, Vladislav Kamenev IR: Ian Cole
FLAMES Johnny Gaudreau - Sean Monahan - Elias Lindholm Matthew Tkachuk - Mikael Backlund - Michal Frolik Milan Lucic - Derek Ryan - Sam Bennett Andrew Mangiapane - Mark Jankowski - Austin Czarnik
Mark Giordano - T.J. Brodie Noah Hanifin - Travis Hamonic Oliver Kylington - Rasmus Anderson
David Rittich Cam Talbot
Scratches: Tobias Rieder, Mark Stone (I think)
Certainly don't want to make a prediction here. Flames pretty much owned the Avs last year during the regular season, the Avs returned the favor in the playoffs. Avs have also made some pretty major changes, and that 2nd line is most definitely in the "experimental" stage (I don't think it'll work).
I'm curious to see how Tkachuk, Bennett, and Kadri all interact. That could get pretty chippy in a hurry.
So far it's been All Avs in this opening period, except for a not-great PK situation that led to a Flames goal, and a power play that's been given a whole bunch of opportunities but not quite putting it together. Not a whole lot to complain about so far. Goales from Sammy Girard and Mikko Rantanen.
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:26 pm Posts: 9152 Location: Left Field
Flames have been ok but Rittich better. Can't let the Avs on the PP though. Avs have been faster as they were last year. Milan vs Zedorov is uneventful. Excellent puck movement from the kids in Colorado. Special teams parade. Same old same old though Flames good with space but trouble making it (why Czarnik never hits the next level).
How are you watching this game professor?
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Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:26 pm Posts: 9152 Location: Left Field
Well....this is definitely an improved Avs team. Even though Nathan seemed to be fairly quiet, improved secondary support was very apparent as Danskoi was immediately involved. Grubauer didn't have a ton of work for the majority of the game but was solid when needed. I thought Timmons and Makar looked good as well. Rantanen clearly won the battle of last minute RFA signings in game 1. Watch out for this team!
Flames have some work to do and some folks didn't appear ready to play at a consistent level. So they proceeded to march to the box giving the Avs lots of PP practice. Johnny converted a super pass from Monahan and Gio was good, Rittich looked ready but beyond that....not too much. A little concerned that the Flames depth on offense is a bit overrated....is it Dube time yet? We'll see after 10 games. Luckily the Canucks are next. Moving on.....again.
_________________ No AI has been used in the making of this post
Flames have been ok but Rittich better. Can't let the Avs on the PP though. Avs have been faster as they were last year. Milan vs Zedorov is uneventful. Excellent puck movement from the kids in Colorado. Special teams parade. Same old same old though Flames good with space but trouble making it (why Czarnik never hits the next level).
How are you watching this game professor?
I wasn't. I was so busy at work and then at home taking care of the three furballs I just listened to it on the radio. After years of bitching, the folks at Altitude radio apparently FINALLY listened to me and gave Conor McGahey a color commentator to work with, and it's none other than Johnny Malkin (John Mitchell) himself! His most famous moment as an Av depicted here:
As for the game, that was an impressive debut. By no means perfect, but impressive. I expect special teams will improve as the season unfolds, but there is definitely room for improvement. Avs were utterly dominant in period 1, faltered a bit in period 2, and then held on long enough to win the game. Rantanen lost his guy (some dude named Giordano) on the third Flames goal, but he more than made up for it with two impressive scores of his own. And yeah, MacKinnon was pretty quiet last night but I certainly don't expect that to last.
I was surprised Kadri didn't mix it up with the Flames' agitators more. It's also clear that there is no player on the planet Gabe Landeskog despises more than Matthew Tkachuk.
Lastly, Milan Lucic is a complete and total dipshit. While the hit that prompted the ensuing hijinks was a bit iffy (though dude shouldn't turn into the boards like that) I don't think you should give a fighting major to Zadorov for standing there and getting a gloved punch in the face. Good luck with that one, Calgary.
Hopefully we'll see them clean things up a little defensively, but overall I really can't complain a whole lot. This is gonna be a fun team to watch...y'know...when I can watch them without having to resort to bootleg streams.
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