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I'm guessing the playoff roster, once the dust clears, will be...

Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin - Nazem Kadri - Andre Burakovsky
Artturi Lehkonen - Alex Newhook - J.T. Compher
Andrew Cogliano - Nico Sturm - Logan O'Connor
Extras: Kurtis MacDermid, Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Samuel Girard - Josh Manson
Jack Johnson - Erik Johnson
Extras: Ryan Murray

Darcy Kuemper
Pavel Francouz

This puts LOC back on the 4th line where he belongs, and Lehkonen will factor in huge as a third liner/PK guy.

Biggest question mark remains goaltending. But that's fine, there was no obvious upgrade available, and Kuemper, to his credit, fought back from an abysmal start to post some of the best numbers in the league.

All this and the Avs retained their 2022 first rounder and kept all their best prospects at every position.

Now or never, so to speak. Things become exponentially harder after this season.

Should also be noted that Bo Byram was spotted skating today with a regular jersey on, so he could be cleared very soon. I didn't include him on the projected roster because I'm still skeptical as to how far he'll make it before PCS symptoms resurface. Main goal there is the well-being of the player, everything else is secondary, but if he was good to go for the playoffs...holy crap.

You got a good one in Lehkonen. Excellent two-way player, gets enough chances that you'd think he could score 25 every season but you settle for half.

But really just a 5v5 beast who doesn't get beat much.

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Yeah, Avs fans on HF are psyched that the team got him. No one's really all that upset that it cost Barron. The need to bolster the PK and the bottom six was way, way overdue.

And it's a little bit of insurance as well if indeed Sakic can't get Nichushkin re-signed.

Well there we go, just as soon as we see news that Bo Byram is skating in a normal jersey again, Ryan Murray suffers a fractured hand after blocking a shot last night. Out indefinitely. That dude is just plain cursed...he was just starting to find his game after a rough go of it.

Avs kinda struggled against the Oilers all night, shot metrics were kinda bad for the Avs beyond the top line and top pairing, who dominated as usual, but the Avs also seemed to do a good job of keeping Edmonton on the perimeter. A rather controversial finish because Kadri ripped Darnell Nurse's helmet off in OT, forcing him to leave the ice immediately, which left McDavid all alone to defend against MacKinnon and Makar. Would've been okay but somehow Evander Kane lost it in his skates in the neutral zone and Makar pounced, creating a 2-on-1 that MacKinnon finished top shelf.

Josh Manson had a HORRIBLE night, flopping and flailing all over the place and playing a pretty major role in both Edmonton goals against. Also took a really dumb double-minor. I did not know that in the event of a double-minor, it doesn't matter if the team getting the power play scores before the whistle is blown on the delayed call, they get the goal AND they get the full four-minute power play. Luckily Kailer Yamamoto was fancying himself as some kind of Kadri-type because he negated a good chunk of that power play with a dumb penalty of his own. Had a goal and an assist on the night, but also got called for three of Edmonton's five penalties last night. Avs scored on two of them, but were dangerous on the man-advantage all night.

The new depth additions cannot arrive soon enough.

While Manson was not-great last night, Devon Toews faced down McDavid, Draisaitl, and Kane and didn't flinch. Don't have the numbers in front of me but someone posted that he doubled shot attempts for the Avs any time he was on the ice at the same time as any of those guy. What a phenomenal pickup he's been.

Interesting juxtaposition, Avs didn't look great in terms of possession, but dominated the xG% on the night.

Blech.

Avs drop a turd at Ball Arena, lose to the hungry and desperate Canucks 3-1. Canucks played ROUGH hockey, clogged it up like crazy, and it worked. Avs can't complain though, they got five power plays and only capitalized on one.

Compher, O'Connor, and Burakovsky were hands-down the worst players on the ice. Very unfortunate since two of those three guys were on the 2nd line. Top pairing and top line guys were completely gassed. Again. MacKinnon (again) coughed it up with the goalie pulled and the opposition had an easy empty-netter. Can't blame him though, he was beyond exhausted.

US Immigration can suck a fat one. Lehkonen's visa was not issued in time so the Avs had to play without him. Cogliano played, and laid a DIRTY hit on Podkolzin, knee-to-knee that thankfully did not result in injury. He was otherwise good in a limited 4th line role.

Manson had a horrid turnover that resulted in a goal but was otherwise solid. Really hoping we see him and Girard as a pairing soon, because the other options are Jack Johnson and Erik Johnson. Ugh.

EJ turned 34 this week, and he had kind of a rough night.

Anyway, I think the Canucks just plain wanted it more, and give credit to Bruce Boudreau. That's a completely different team than the one the Avs saw earlier this year. And that may be the 32nd-ranked penalty kill, but it sure didn't look like it last night. Last time I saw it, guys were just standing around. Not anymore, they were glued onto the Avs skaters and were disrupting everyting, while at the same time refusing to yield the middle of the ice. Avs needed to work harder to get it down low and get on some rebounds...on the 5th and final power play, they did, and they scored.

Didn't like this game but it ain't the end of the world...and if there's a team I'd like to see make it at the expense of Vegas, it's Vancouver 100%.

For the love of GOD there are still fucking visa issues with Lehkonen. Reports are that he's not even with the team in Calgary. Are you kidding me with this shit?????

Anyway, the Avs drop another one, this time in OT. I didn't love the effort, even though they practically doubled up the Wylde in shots in the 2nd. Still gotta find a way to finish, which they really didn't. Five-on-five offense has kinda dried up ever since both Girard and Landeskog went down.

Manson continues to have some struggles adjusting to the Avs' system. Had some more bad turnovers that resulted in goals. But more concerning is the lack of even-strength offense.

Someone just please fast forward through the rest of this regular season. Even I'm a little sick of it.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it finally got approved!!!!

The most notable difference between the Green/Benning vs. Boudreau/Allvin Canucks appears to be that they no longer allow RR passes through, especially on the PK. The Cannots seem to have figured out how to clog up the middle and get sticks on the ice. That and having some skilled players play the PK and use their hockey IQ to disrupt plays has been working out very well - Petterson and Hughes are now regular fixtures on the PK in the Boudreau era.


Indeed. Vegas can suck it.

Goddammit...gotta be fucking kidding me with this.

So, somewhat late in the game the Avs ultimately lost in OT to Minnesota, Nathan MacKinnon dropped gloves with a Wylde player (can't remember who, was it Hartman?) who took a run at Mikko Rantanen. Obviously the big concern when that happens is that he hurts his hand or something else goes wrong and he's out indefinitely.

Well, they haven't admitted it was the fight that caused it, but RIGHT FUCKING WHEN the paperwork finally clears on Artturi Lehkonen to make his Avs debut, they announced this morning that MacKinnon is out tonight and there's no timeline on his return. Bednar said that they're going to be way more cautious than usual with injuries because they want all players healthy for the playoffs...but he also said the concern level is "high."

Fucking motherfucking hell.

Meanwhile, I don't know how in the world they've done it, but Calgary, the team they're playing tonight, has lost hardly anyone to injury for any appreciable time this year. Like...not even the perpetually exploding Sean Monahan has missed significant time with injury. I don't get it...I just don't get it.

oh jeez..you've got to be kidding me! I was watching that fight and then him shake his hand and going OH NO! Let's hope its minor and precautionary. Calgary did have an extended COVID break.....and now Monahan is still out but scratched instead!

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Yeah, tough sledding for ol' Boring Monahan. He's been struggling mightily with injuries/surgeries for a while now. Finally come to the point where he's just not needed anymore.

Anyway, this is further proof the presence of a goon on your team doesn't deter shit. Both teams had one in their employ (MacDermid/Deslauriers) and yet it was Dumba and MacKinnon who threw down.

Big win last night in the Saddledome. Flames were fully healthy and had Markstrom in net, Avs were missing MacKinnon, Landeskog, Girard, and Byram, and managed to eke out a 2-1 win. Both goals were scored on the power play by Valeri Nichushkin. Not a pretty game by any means but this was definitely a playoff-style slog, with big hits and some scary moments, but the Avs came through big, and that's what matters. Darcy Kuemper was pretty amazing throughout, as was Jacob Markstrom, none of the goals given up were bad by any means.

The Avs media people, from Moser to McGahey, have made a point of showing everyone the damned trapeze act ya gotta go through just to get to the press box at the Saddledome. Moser is deathly afraid of heights and has publicly stated how much he despises going to Calgary for games because of this, the Altitude crew obviously gave him a heap of shit one time while he was making his way across.

Oh and the Avs are the first team to reach 100 points this season, which everyone knows isn't the biggest deal in the world as that hardly secures the Stanley Cup, but it's something worth noting nonetheless. Quickest the Avs have reached that mark since the 2013-14 season, MacKinnon's rookie season (also had a guy by the name of Patrick Roy behind the bench).

https://twitter.com/caseycheatum/status ... F0988MFZFg

Lehkonen + Nichushkin on the forecheck = Frustrating shift for Kris Letang.

Missed the game this weekend as I was with the wife in Omaha to see a show, but the Avs had a classic matinee match against the Sid, Geno, and the Pens. 3-2 win, Avs blew the lead late thanks to an utterly moronic behind-the-back-pass-IN-HIS-OWN-ZONE by Andre Burakovsky, but then the Avs just marched right down and scored again.

Travis Yost might be right, the Avs are so good they're almost inviting the stupid play just so they can go right back out there and take the game over again.

Thanks to a very questionable hit by goddamned Tomas Hertl, Nazem Kadri is going to be out for some time. Hopefully back for the playoffs along with everyone else (also hopefully, not a guarantee there either).

50 wins, playoff berth secured, 6-4 victory in Pittsburgh to complete the home-and-home season sweep of the Penguins while missing Kadri, Landeskog, Murray, Girard, and Nichushkin. That's the #3 defenseman and 2/3rds of the 2nd line right there.

Bowen Byram played around 15 minutes, looked good for a guy who hasn't seen NHL action in three months.

Artturi Lehkonen is SO effing GOOD he has somehow brought J.T. Compher back to life. It's not a coincidence that Compher's game looks a thousand times better now that he's taking regular shifts with 62.

Girard is slating to return at some point during the road trip. Good thing too because the Avs offensive attack at even strength sorely needs him.

Does this team have a single weakness entering the playoffs? Some might say it's between the pipes as Kuemper is unproven in the playoffs, but he has a hell of a lot of experience and is .925 SV% this year. Playing in 'Zona all those years probably didn't help his career averages either. Could just be a late bloomer like Marky.

The team has made it through many injury bugs this season, which proves their organizational depth. They have a shit tonne of offensive firepower and can beat you in different ways.

Shaping up to be an interesting post season. Here's hoping they don't win the President's Trophy.

This kind of feels like the year for Colorado, LP, doesn't it?

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