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Since Tommy is busy I will help him out.

Avs put Vegas on notice and make a statement in Game 1.

Reaves not doing himself any favors trying to mug Graves....I don't even know what that was.....resulting in a 9 minute PP.......

Hopefully we don't see that guy again.

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This just in......

The Avs are never going to lose a hockey game again. Ever.

The Graves hit was bad, I fully acknowledge that. I don't buy this BLIND SIDE shit that Stone was complaining about--Janmark was not hit from the blind side, he was hit straight-on and wasn't prepared at all. Graves hit him high but also, Graves is about a foot taller than Janmark. What I didn't like about the hit was that it was late, and also Graves pulled himself way, WAY out of position to deliver it. His defensive partner, Patrik Nemeth, was already in the corner. If Janmark had succeeded in getting the puck to an open teammate, and he nearly did, that would've left the slot area unprotected. Just not smart hockey from the guy, but I don't think it was intentional--he just wanted to keep the physicality high since he knew Vegas was doing it.

That said even if it was intentional, Reaves acted like a mad dog out there and he should've been suspended for the remainder of this series AT LEAST. He should've been suspended for his antics in the game before, but no, that fucking idiotic mustachioed goon running DOPS did next to nothing Two games!? TWO!!!???? He tried to injure the Avs goalie, then he very literally tried to injure Graves. Two games. That guarantees he'll be back even if the Avs somehow sweep this. And I don't think they will.

Meanwhile, Kadri gets the book thrown at him. Which...I'm fine with, but why is he the one that gets properly punished and everyone else gets a slap on the wrist!?

Anyway, I quite enjoyed that game, especially Nathan MacKinnon making Nicolas Hague his bitch. Fuck these guys--they're out to hurt every star the Avs have, because that's the only way they believe they'll win this. At least twice Cale Makar was slammed to the ice by their guys. I sure hope it doesn't get ugly because if both sides just stick to playing hockey this should be the best series of the postseason.

Thankfully no antics this time around. Just a hockey game. That's great considering what happened in Winnipeg last night.

So the Avs hang on for dear life and get caved in by the Golden Knights, but Grubauer stands tall and saves the day, getting them to OT where Rantanen puts it away with a power play goal.

Colorado was absolute dogshit after the first period. Vegas was not going to lay down like they did in game one...hopefully this is a wake-up call.

Bednar needs to rejigger his lines outside of the top trio. J.T. Compher is not a center, but yet he keeps putting him there, and J.T. keeps failing. That line with Burakovsky and Donskoi was a complete disaster because Bednar refuses to try the rookie there. Newhook might fail, very distinct possibility, but Compher is definitely failing, so he has nothing to lose. Kadri likely isn't coming back early, so...he needs to do SOMETHING.

Ryan Graves landed in the doghouse after wandering out of position on the Knights' second goal (Reilly snuck in behind on a breakaway with both Girard and Graves just standing there on the left side) and didn't take an even strength shift for the remainder of the 2nd and most of the 3rd. Hopefully he gets back on track, but Bednar has indicated he's going to use Bowen Byram eventually, so we'll see what happens next game.

Two best teams in hockey going toe to toe right now. Vegas comes back and gets a badly needed W. Patches!

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Avs tried to hang on again, didn’t work this time. Still, despite playing another bad game, they nearly won again.

Bednar did not spare the rod with his players, especially the top line. We’ll see if they respond on Sunday.

Gurbauer has been tending some nearly perfect goal for the Avs thus far. The Knights could very easily be up 2-1, but there is zero margin for error and we know this Knights team can be susceptible to the offensive yips come playoff time. Excited for some entertaining hockey in game 4. Far superior to the snore a thon happening up North.

Hmm well a bit disappointed in that response in the face of withering fire last night.

Painfully obvious that Vegas has soft ice and they are using it along with the neutral zone load up/forecheck to slow down the Avalanche. But...that's what coaches are for!

Sam Girard has resorted back to being soft as a baby's ass and a passing Reaves breeze is now blowing him off the puck. The Stars used this heavy play on the Avs D last year and I was waiting for a team to try it again and be successful. This is what the playoffs are all about! Gotta find a way!

I am really enjoying this Shame Shame GOT thing as Avs players go to the box...well done.

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Yeah, that was ugly. Avs had early momentum with a goal by Brandon Saad but then an insanely idiotic turnover by Patrik Nemeth flipped the script and the Avs just couldn't find their footing after that. Better effort at least but there are no moral victories in hockey.

Sakic's deadline acquisitions ended up being bad ones. They were brought back because they "knew the system" but I don't think they do. It evolved after they left and now they look horribly out of place. Both Nemeth and Soderberg (despite a big goal from the latter in game 3) have been huge liabilities out there.

In any event it wasn't Girard's performance that was bothering me so much as Toews and Makar just looked completely out of sorts. Bad ice and a relentless forecheck have completely negated them both. They've gotta find a way to work past that or they're not the franchise superstars we all think they are.

This is where key injuries and Nazem Kadri being a fucking idiot is really biting the Avs in the ass right now. Tyson Jost just...can't be your second-best center in the postseason. He was good in the regular season, but he's getting run over now, and this is Dallas in the Bubble all over again. We were wondering if he could be the long-term solution at 3C going forward, unfortunately that answer is an emphatic NO. Also, fourth liner or not, Logan O'Connor is EXACTLY the type of player you need in the postseason against a team like this. A guy with speed, size, and grit to spare who can give them a taste of their own medicine.

Winner plays the Habs, how's that for motivation!

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I wouldn't take the Habs too lightly, Just ask my brother in law.

Avs outplayed the Knights tonight…and still lost.

Ahead 2-0 in the third, two boneheaded turnovers later and it’s tied. Then Ryan Graves blindly takes two shots from the point in OT where Vegas has everyone stacked up to block them and Mark Stone takes the ensuing turnover and buries it. Brutal gut punch of a loss…but at some point you just have to admit the Golden Knights are just a really good team. When the Avs have to play near-perfect hockey to win against these guys, well, that about sums it up.

Avs fans (including me) were beside themselves over Nemeth drawing back in, but apart from one weak d-zone turnover, he was not very noticeable. Only played ten minutes because the refs didn’t call anything tonight. Which is fine because the Avs got away with a ton of shit too.

Oh well. One more game to see what they’re made of.

Yep during the 3rd the Knights absorbed what the Avs were giving waited patiently and struck on some mental errors. To me it looked like the Avs were being unsafe with the lead and not doing the smart plays. Maybe the tactic was to go for the jugular...who knows. Some fine rope a dope from Vegas.

I would have benched Burakovsky for the rest of the game on that stupid play....Graves must have received some guidance at some point to activate whenever possible. Mackinnon was also the high winger back for pinching D...seems to have worked until the Knights decided to wait them out.

Logan OConner was very noticeable in a good way.

Looks like the Avs still have some work to do....back to soft ice!

In the event they do lose is this season considered a failure? I don't think I would go that far but disappointing for sure.

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Please go 7. I need a few days off.

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Ryan Graves attempted 7 shots last night (two of course in that very short OT). 6 of them were blocked. They did a diagram of all his options. Had plenty of room on either side of him, could've dished it off to guys low around the dots, could've even just shot it against the end boards and hoped for a ricochet, or he could've just dished off to Sam Girard. Nope. He fired it blindly TWICE, right down the middle where the Knights players were all stacked up, and then after shot #2 was just kinda floating around, not realizing Mark Stone had very smartly snuck behind him.

Anyway, the loss is not all on him, nor is it all on Landeskog and Burakovsky and their brain-dead turnovers. It's also bad luck, and a lack of depth up front. As well as they both played, both J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost should not be the #2 and #3 centers on a team that's going for it. You need better than that. Avs really gotta see about addressing that depth this offseason. Vegas doesn't have great depth at center either...but it's still better than what the Avs have presently.

They upheld the suspension on Kadri so he only draws in IF there is a game 7. I'm not very hopeful, especially if Bednar insists on playing Nemeth and Graves in key roles...both have had an absolutely horrible series thus far and get caved in every time they take the ice. It does you no good to play the big physical guys when the big physical guys keep doing stupid shit with the puck.

Back to the soft ice in the desert. Not sure that helps more but probably Vegas. This game has become such a game of pinball you just never know.

They seem to know how to play on that--there were a couple instances where guys like Cale and Sammy lost an edge and they scooped it right up. It's akin to the weird floor the Celtics had at Boston Garden. They knew exactly where the spots were on that shitty hardwood where the ball would just suddenly go dead.

Oh FUCK...Bednar not present at today's skate because there's an "irregularity" in his test results. Hopefully he's behind the bench for what could be the final game of the season.

I really wish they'd ditch the two worst players for the Avs in this series (Graves and Nemeth) and just go with a full skill blueline with Byram and MacDonald rounding out the bottom pairing...but I know they won't.

That would really suck if Bednar isn't on the bench. Especially if it's a false positive or something like that.

Go Avs!

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Bednar cleared--I was guessing he might since Baugh posted that it was an "irregularity" in his test results, not a positive test.

Yay, one hurdle cleared!