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PostPosted: Wed Jan 13, 2021 7:01 pm 
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Okay...here we go.

First confirmed COVID case on the team goes to...Erik Johnson. He's out for a while longer, so I'm guessing Gilbert will take his place. I believe Byram is still quarantining so he can't go either.

Opening at home against the Blues. If I were going to a GDT pun it'd probably be "Faulk it All."


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:38 am 
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Saw Toews take a shoulder to the jaw and land on his face. Any word on him?

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 10:09 am 
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Ugh.....Girard doing what he does best....float around on D and get pushed off the puck.

The only reason Timmins was a -3 (and not Girard too) on that second goal is because the D change didn't happen fast enough and Timmins got left out to dry.

Timmins/Girard not so good last night. Only 1 game so we'll see what the effort level looks like on Friday. Thankfully Bo Byram may be in the lineup then.

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:35 pm 
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harmfuljays wrote:
Ugh.....Girard doing what he does best....float around on D and get pushed off the puck.

The only reason Timmins was a -3 (and not Girard too) on that second goal is because the D change didn't happen fast enough and Timmins got left out to dry.

Timmins/Girard not so good last night. Only 1 game so we'll see what the effort level looks like on Friday. Thankfully Bo Byram may be in the lineup then.


Actually, I thought G was really good--he was moving the puck well and didn't shy away from the dirty areas of the ice. Unfortunately one of the goals against was a bad misplay on his part behind the net, and then everyone else just kinda coasted around after he coughed it up.

Timmins was fine IMO, obviously he has some kinks to work out of his game. If there was one Avs defenseman who looked like warm cow piss out there it was Ian Cole.

Chris18 wrote:
Saw Toews take a shoulder to the jaw and land on his face. Any word on him?


He came back later in the game and appeared to be fine, so that's a relief. I'm not reading anything about him being held out of practice or anything, so I guess he's fine.

Obviously not the start anyone in Av-land wanted. You can't be a team comprised of speed and then not skate. Utter horseshit effort last night and Jared Bednar didn't pull any punches. For being such a chill dude he can be quite direct and brutally honest. The new additions (Toews and Saad) didn't look great at all--I'm hoping it was just the lack of adjustment time. We'll see if they turn it around in due time. The two worst players for the Avs IMO were Kadri and Cole. It wasn't the worst effort I've ever seen from the Bednar-era Avs but we all expected a lot better.

So I'm not worried about the effort level--that will get better. Nathan MacKinnon will not let this team slack off. But I am worried about some things they failed to address in the offseason. One, the power play still looks like shit despite the insane amount of talent they can bring to bear. Still too reliant on the perfect shot instead of just crashing the damned net and scoring ugly. I'm grateful that Ray Bennett came in and helped clean things up after the disaster that was 2016-17, but I wonder if it was right to retain him after continued special teams struggles.

Two, the goaltending was okay. Not great. And it was special teams and goaltending that did the Avs in when they were in the bubble. Mind you, they were on their THIRD STRING guy at that point, but Grubauer was fairly mediocre during the regular season. Frankie wasn't much better. Unfortunately even with all the goalie shuffling the this offseason, the Avs decided to stick with their guys. I don't necessarily blame them for that, but it could bite them in the ass.

Third, and this is my biggest concern, this team has depth and talent to spare, but they still don't have a third-line center, and that particular weakness really showed last night. The third and fourth lines got completely dominated by the Blues, and when it's Robert friggin' Thomas putting on a clinic against your Stanley Cup-favorite roster, there's a real problem there. Sakic already knew J.T. Compher was not the answer at 3C last season, so going into this season with the same gameplan was a mistake. I get it--he did a bang-up job shoring up other weaknesses, but IMO that one was pretty substantial. Don't know if prospect Shane Bowers is up to the task but he will start the season in the minors and frankly, I think he's a better wing than a center. The solution will likely have to come from elsewhere, unless they're just waiting for Alex Newhook to make the team.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:38 pm 
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Here's some news that was rather disconcerting. Matt Calvert has been a phenomenal pickup for the Avs, but unfortunately he's run into some substantial injury troubles, and now it's come out that he was knocked out of the bubble due to a concussion. And concussions have been an issue for him.

He started this season with a pink visor and everyone took notice, apparently when asked about it, he said it's specially designed to block out blue light, which exacerbates concussion symptoms. It'd be a huge blow if the Avs lose him again--the team really derives a lot of their energy and drive from him.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 2:16 am 
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Well, coming back to beat the same team 8-0 is certainly a good way to bounce back.

Five power play goals ties a franchise record. They had a chance to break it but Bednar didn’t roll out either power play unit, which was probably wise.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 12:07 pm 
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I hope the NHL are keeping track of team records on back to back games. It going to be tough for one team to win both I reckon. Hard to manufacture desperation after winning the first game and almost impossible to not be desperate if a team loses game 1 given the shortened season. Human nature. I bet there will be a shit tonne of splits this season, leading to, err, you guessed it - parody and tight playoff races.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 4:55 pm 
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Logical Progression wrote:
I hope the NHL are keeping track of team records on back to back games. It going to be tough for one team to win both I reckon. Hard to manufacture desperation after winning the first game and almost impossible to not be desperate if a team loses game 1 given the shortened season. Human nature. I bet there will be a shit tonne of splits this season, leading to, err, you guessed it - parody and tight playoff races.


I fully expect the Avs to lay a huge egg tomorrow in Los Angeles. Back-to-backs can wear a team out, but nothing is worse for a team, especially the Avs, than an extended break between games. Just totally throws them out of rhythm and they always come out sluggish.

Anyway, hopefully we see this team take another step, especially on the blueline. Bowen Byram's quarantine period is over and he's available. Erik Johnson still stuck in COVID protocol. There was speculation Conor Timmins would sit next game but Bednar quickly denied it. That's good because, while he's made some rookie mistakes out there, he's been extremely solid thus far.

So right now they could ice Byram as a third-pairing defender and go with a top four of Makar/Toews/Girard/Timmins. That's an insane amount of puck skill to have on the back end. Johnson and Ian Cole are almost afterthoughts at this point, though I'm sure the team would love to have a healthy EJ in the mix.

I'm guessing, if he stays healthy and plays well, that Timmins will be part of a package to address other needs on the team--notably the issue at 3rd line center. It's about the only very obvious weakness this team has (at least on paper).


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 7:49 pm 
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Avs paid tribute to Pierre Lacroix before their first game.

https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/video/ava ... /c-7236561

They will also wear a "PL" sticker on their helmets for this season. Kinda wish they would have done something a little more creative than just put his initials on a sticker with Avs colors. I wish they had used a fleur-de-lis or something like that. I get it might come off a bit dubious given the franchise's history, but I always got the impression that Lacroix was very proud to be Quebecois.

In other news, I'm being told that Conor Timmins will not have to be protected in the expansion draft, so that's good news. There was some confusion given that he signed his pro deal over two years ago, but because of that nasty concussion he suffered in the Memorial Cup tournament, he missed an entire year of hockey.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:21 pm 
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Avalanche trade Ian Cole to Minnesota for Greg Pateryn.

They drop a pricier depth defenceman for a cheaper one. Greg and his wife/gf were a bit of a case in Montreal, she expressed her dislike of Quebecois women. :lol:

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 7:16 pm 
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E.L. wrote:
Avalanche trade Ian Cole to Minnesota for Greg Pateryn.

They drop a pricier depth defenceman for a cheaper one. Greg and his wife/gf were a bit of a case in Montreal, she expressed her dislike of Quebecois women. :lol:


Damn. Well, this avoids the question of whether or not Cole would've sat in the press box (I'm almost certain he wouldn't, especially in a contract year).

So now we know who is slated for the press box.

Unfortunately, cap room is now an issue in Colorado, and they had to retain on this deal, so I'm guessing no cap relief available here. If they retained half of Cole's remaining salary then it cancels out any savings in the swap.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2021 5:34 pm 
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Pateryn and Cole both wore 28 for their respective teams...and will do so in their new locations. This trade was just meant to be.

Two goals in three games for Devon Toews, both big slapshots on the power play. He's on the 2nd unit and interestingly enough, they're going with the traditional 3F/2D setup for that power play scheme. It's worked great so far as Girard has drawn PKers and then feeds a slick drop pass to a wide open Toews, who buries it.

He's been fantastic so far and a perfect fit--and I don't think he's even quite become fully adjusted to the new team and tactics--once he does, look out, this team is going to kill it.

Still some growing questions in regards to the third line center position and in goal, but otherwise the Avs look loaded for bear.

A lot of consternation over the new blue pants/gloves, and hey, if that's the biggest complaint then that's a good sign.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2021 8:42 pm 
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Bowen Byram and Hunter Miska will make their season debuts. Byram of course will be making his NHL debut.

Also making his Avalanche debut: Greg Pateryn, which prompted me to dust off this classic. Erik will appreciate the reference.



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PostPosted: Thu Jan 21, 2021 9:54 pm 
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Haha maybe my favourite GDT title...

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 22, 2021 1:26 pm 
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Well, not a good showing. Apart from the entire top line (especially MacKinnon and Rantanen), Matt Calvert, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, the Avs were pretty much a no-show.

For some reason, Cale Makar has had an uncharacteristically slow start to the season. He's been good, but not quite at the level we grew accustomed to since his arrival in the NHL. Hopefully it's just him getting up to speed and not something else.

Bowen Byram played just over 11 minutes, and by his own admission started out a bit nervous. Took a holding penalty against Anze Kopitar early on but after that started skating and handling the puck with confidence. Not bad for an NHL debut. Wish that half the team had shown up with him.

Greg Pateryn most definitely proved he belongs in the press box. Was not impressed at all, and for some inexplicable reason, Jared Bednar continually rolled him and Ryan Graves out as a defensive pairing. They were predictably disastrous, though I don't know if they were on the ice for any goals against.

Hunter Miska was unfortunately terrible last night, letting in two goals that even Jared Bednar said should not have gone in. Even Miska himself admitted the two power play goals he gave up. Apparently behind the scenes he felt really bad about his performance. Unfortunately, he's a career minor leaguer who's probably meant for the ECHL--Sakic might have a bit of a problem on his hands with Pavel Francouz once again hurt.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 23, 2021 12:19 am 
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Goalie waivers are gonna be hot this year, maybe add Colorado to the list of teams that might cycle through backups.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:35 am 
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E.L. wrote:
Haha maybe my favourite GDT title...


That one was great, still remember that.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:51 pm 
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Unfortunately the headline was much better than the player. Pateryn has been an abject disaster on the ice every shift he takes. Turnovers and soft defense, he looks about five steps slower than everyone else. He wouldn't be playing if not for Erik Johnson still getting his conditioning back after fighting off COVID. Ryan Graves should play ahead of him though.

The good news is, Bowen Byram's time as a third pairing defenseman was short-lived. He's played a majority of his time lately alongside Sam Girard. With Toews and Makar making up the top pairing, that's a lot of talent in the top four. Fellow rookie Conor Timmins was on the third pairing and looked good in limited time. I like that Bednar continually avoids old-school coaching mistakes and opts for the best players rather than leaning on vets and making rookies "earn" their time.

Unfortunately, mediocre-to-bad goaltending, a forward corps that isn't clicking apart from the dominant top line, and just plain bad shooting luck has led to a middling record thus far. That's fine. Frustrating, but fine. Also, historically, I don't know why, but the Avs have not ever had a good time on the west coast--their record is quite poor against the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks. Some of that is for obvious reasons, but even last night, they struggled against a very blah Ducks team. Yes, John Gibson was amazing as always, but they still should have won.

Not helping that both Brandon Saad and Nazem Kadri have sucked donkey balls to start the season. Both look lost out there. I knew Saad had a rep for coasting at times but it's maddening to watch.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:59 pm 
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Oh thank the Hockey Gods. Pateryn's on waivers. I think that's what you have to do to put him on the taxi squad...I don't know the rules. Either way, GTFO of the lineup, Greg.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 4:35 pm 
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Good 7-3 win against the San Jose Loan Sharks last night. The much-maligned 2nd line of Kadri, Saad, and Burakovsky blew up the other night, with Saad tallying two goals, one of which made the highlight reels. Sooooo worth it to see that doofus Doobnick have another meltdown after an Avs goal. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Apparently ol' Evander Kane is in the doghouse. He only played something like nine minutes and is a league leader in penalty minutes. In the short time his line was on the ice, they got completely ragdolled by the Avs.

19-year-old Bo Byram led the Avs in ice time. Obviously the fact that it was a blowout early on played a part in that, but it's nice to see a coach who realizes putting your young players in the game is what develops them best.


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