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| 2018 Round 1: Avs vs. Preds http://offthepost.org/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=8030 |
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| Author: | E.L. [ Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 2018 Round 1: Avs vs. Preds |
Avalanche put up a good fight. One to watch next season. |
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| Author: | Pokecheque [ Sun Apr 22, 2018 11:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 2018 Round 1: Avs vs. Preds |
And there ya have it. Preds finally showed up and unfortunately the Hamburglar mojo was only good for one game. Still, it was so exciting to see the hometown pumped for playoff hockey again. And instead of a sweep like everyone was expecting, it ended up being the longest-lasting Western Conference first round series. Hell of a season...I slagged Sakic mercilessly for the whole Duchene debacle but there's no arguing the huge haul that was gotten in return. And who'da thunk the guy everyone called the "throw-in" on the deal plays a huge part in winning Game 5. I defended Jared Bednar vociferously on HF the whole offseason and most of this season when most Avs fans would have him fired on the spot after last season's Epic Fail. He turned out to be a keeper after all. I think he's a good coach...whether he's The Guy remains to be seen, but I still like how very un-traditional he is. As for needs, the team's two biggest weaknesses were finding reliable secondary scoring and winning faceoffs. Hey, I know! Bring Paul Stastny back! 2018-19 will also be the final year of Semyon Varlamov's contract, and there is no heir apparent in the system. They will also need to figure out who the backup will be for a guy with a lengthy injury history. No easy answers there. Tough way to end it but this team, banged up to all hell (including what looks like some kind of UBI to Mikko Rantanen, which clearly limited his effectiveness) and going into games 5 and 6 with their third string goalie, took it just one game short of a full series against the President's Trophy winners, who BTW were nearly 100% healthy for this one. I'm gonna be really excited for hockey next season. Still gonna be a hell of a challenge in the Central next year but I'm way more optimistic than I was going into last offseason. |
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| Author: | Logical Progression [ Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:32 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 2018 Round 1: Avs vs. Preds |
Good effort by the Avs despite facing adversity -- exciting future ahead. But for Colorado to really take the next step, they need to shore up the goaltending situation. Not entirely sold on Varlamov. He is rather injury prone and his career numbers are middling. Bernier looks good as a solid back up, but Hammond isn't really an NHL goalie. |
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