Well, what can I say? The Avs were competitive…for a while. If hockey games were 22 minutes long, the Avs would have won 1-0, thanks to a somewhat fluky goal by Ben Guite. However - and I’m not sure the Avs have received this memo - NHL games are 60 minutes long. The ‘Hawks took advantage of a disinterested Avalanche defense to outscore the Avs 6-1 in the final 40 minutes.
For the first period or so, it looked like the Avs were inspired by Ian Laperriere’s post-game rant on Sunday. Defensemen were engaging, working for the puck, picking up open players in the slot. But then, they stopped. By the end of the 3rd period, Adam Foote and Brett Clark were “defending” by skating backwards and lazily poking their sticks at the hard-skating Blackhawk kids. It was ugly.
Meanwhile, our high-octane offense has been de-clawed. The Avs are averaging 1.8 goals a game over their last 5 (and one of those goals was the goal credited for winning the shootout). Tony Granato changed up the first 3 lines tonight, but it didn’t seem to help. In the early part of the season, Avalanche forwards were controlling the puck, forcing turnover, making smart passes to where they knew their linemates were headed and forechecking with vigor. Lately? Not so much. In every game over this dismal 4-game losing streak, the Avs have gotten a good performance from a few individuals, but no one line is playing well together as a cohesive unit. In just over a week, we’ve devolved from team hockey to street hockey.
And, while I think it’s really amazing that we’re 2nd in the league in major penalties and yet have the 3rd fewest minor penalties, I wonder how a team with so many fighters can let Dustin Byfuglien get away with that bone-crunching (but clean) hit on Joe Sakic? Or, for that matter, the Cam Barker slash on the hands of Dubya? Screw Adam Burish and Ben Eager - you can’t let our top players get hit like that.There are a lot of fingers that can be pointed, but no one on the team is exempt from criticism this morning - all 19 players who are in the mix on the team have to be better.
I’m not even going to address how fucking embarrassing it is that the more creative offensive team - by far - was the one coached by Joel Freaking Quenneville.
Lines
David Jones was a scratch (and if you read the recap of Sunday’s game, you weren’t surprised by this move). The top 3 lines were all shuffled around:
- Sakic, Smyth, Hejduk
- Stastny, Wolski, Svatos
- Arnason, McCormick, Tucker
- Guite, McLeod, Laperriere
I didn’t like the lines all that much. I thought the Sakic - Wolski - Hejduk & Stastny - Smyth - Svatos that we saw for a bit in the San Jose game made more sense. I did find it interesting when, in the 3rd period while still a 3-2 game, Cody McCormick took a defensive zone draw instead of Sanjaya. Unfortunately, because the camera was on one of the benches right before the draw, I couldn’t be 100% sure that Arnie wasn’t kicked out of the circle, but it seemed like Cody was taking that from the start.
Quick Hits
- The Avalanche have allowed 18 3rd period goals - worst in the league. (And none of those are empty netters.
- In the last two games, 4 players have 2-goal games against Colorado.
- Each of the Avalanche defensemen was on the ice for at least one of Chicago’s even strength goals.
Next Up
The Avs host the Minnesota Wild - a team that has allowed a league low 22 goals (in 10 games). Super.
I think Cloutier is absolutely one of the best defensive coaches in the game when it comes to timing his defenseman shifts. In other words, he can manage getting Bourque/Foote out for 25 of Yzerman’s 26 shifts. However, his evaluation of talent is utterly lacking. That could be a head coach issue. At this point is SHOULD be a head coach issue because Granato should step in and recognize that Salei has checked out and that Clark checks out in every 3rd period for the last 8 games.
Also, if in the last 4 losses Joe Sakic is -7, then maybe Joe should get the Forsberg treatment? Let him take the faceoffs and center his position through the offensive zone. However, maybe it’s better for everyone is on the defensive end one of his younger wingers did the backchecking instead of Sakic covering the center of the ice. As a bonus if Sakic is along the sideboards, instead of covering the slot he’s very capable of getting those clears that don’t make it all the way and getting the puck out of the zone. How many times do we have to watch Jones, Svatos, or Tucker get those clears halfway out of the zone on the boards and lose the puck? The only capable wingers we seem to have at this right now are Lappy and Smyth. It’s obvious to me that our defense just can’t make clears, so they do what they are taught and they try to bang it off the glass. The wingers aren’t getting it out of the zone and it’s epidemic at this point.
That was a depressing and embarrasing loss.
The lack of physical play, on a team that we thought had too many tough guys, is embarassing. On that note, Avs forechecking is non-existent. You see all of the best teams doing it. Why don’t the Avs take the hint?
That game was a debacle. The only people still playing when the 2nd period hit the halfway mark were Smyth, Liles, and Budaj. And after the 3 and 4 minute stretches when the Avs played like they were a man down, even though they weren’t, would break any goalie, much less one who is hated and scapegoated throughout the local and national media.
Mike, I know you’re a Budaj guy. Though I am not, the over-criticism of the dude is getting blown out to near biblical proportions.
The way things are going, there is going to be a game in the near future where the Avs register less than 10 shots total and Budaj is still going to get blamed for the L by half the fans.
Mike, I know you’re a Budaj guy. Though I am not, the over-criticism of the dude is getting blown out to near biblical proportions
Thanks. I don’t have any problem with people being critical of the guy.. but the amount of criticism thrown his way has been completely out of line compared to his play.
If I had a grade, i’d give him a C or C- for the entire season… but people have acted like he is a totally F-, and that’s just not the case.
You guys have it all wrong. It’s obviously David Jones’ fault.
Yeah, I’m sick of that damn Davy Jones ruining it for everyone! lolol
Can someone start a “whose fault is it” poll?
Claude,
Thanks for the mutual understanding. I’m not trying to say that Boots is playing awesome, great, or even very good. I think he has looked pretty good (even approaching very good at times) in the last 6 or 7 games, and has shown some improvement in areas, while still having some things that need some work. My beef is that nobody is talking about his post coverage (which I think needs work) or maybe even his depth control, but they throw around crap about “rebound control” and “positioning.” I’ve got no beef with Dater on a personal level, he makes my friends happy, what with their committed relationship, and really, all I want is for my friends to be happy. But on this one, I think he’s extremely wrong. Budaj controlled the rebounds in the SJ game pretty well, but the Avs didn’t do anything to control SJ players in the slot, behind the net, or next to the crease. I even joked that maybe he SHOULD start kicking out huge (15-20 feet) rebounds, because then the Avs might be able to clear the zone on occasion.
IMO, the saves Budaj has to make, night in and night out, are coming from some ridiculously high percentage shooting areas off of the sticks of some pretty good players, and his team seems to both unwilling and unable to do anything. Not only that, he isn’t being asked to make two or three saves in a sequence, but more like 7 or 8 because the puck just stays in the Av’s zone. Defensive zone coverage is wretched, forward don’t cover their man, and when they do happen to get the puck on their stick, they can’t elevate it or clear it with enough testicular fortitude to get it out of the zone. Defensemen seem to have forgotten how to win one-on-one battles, make more bad decisions than good, and have now (outside of Liles and Leopold) given up on contributing in the other end. None of that is related to confidence in the goalie as some of the more misguided commenters on AD’s blog seem to think. It’s coaching and accountability. And lack of talent (or talent evaluation) in some cases.
AD and his chum-swallowing followers want to lay this one goal-tending as the #1 problem with the Avs, when the truth is the other five guys on the ice at the same time as Boots are proving to be minuses in their own end rather than pluses. Very few of them are bringing anything to the table defensively and now the high-flying offense is the RPM line and Lappy’s bunch. I count both of those as WAY bigger problems than Budaj.
I think Mike just about said it all right there.
Yes, that says it for me too. I only disagree slightly with the coaching. It’s far more management’s problem to me. Granato should never have been hired, at least without interviewing some other candidates first. Still, I have a hard time blaming him when most of his players are not giving an honest effort.
I am going to use the phrase ‘testicular fortitude’ at my beer league game tonight at least 6 or 7 times. I hope you don’t mind!
As of his latest blogs, I don’t think AD is bashing Budaj as much as management for their decisions in the off-season. Yes he’s mentioned goaltending (and even though I think his reasons for sticking with Theodore make sense, I’m still glad that we let him go) but he’s also mentioned coaching (Q getting us to the playoffs with all of the injuries we sustained) and players (Tucker for Brunette?).
I’ve been a strong proponent of Budaj since his amazing streak at the end of the 2007 season, but last year and this year he hasn’t helped himself. Yes he’s had very poor support but he also can’t be let off the hook either.
Claude,
I see your point about the coaching, and I agree to an extent. I think we were all excited about the up-tempo style making a comeback in Denver, and then we were left scratching our heads over some of the offseason moves. Still, I think for this roster, Tony G is just as culpable. He’s stood behind Arny unwaveringly with nothing to show for it, and the rumors of him being a players’ coach are gaining momentum when the guys on the ice don’t appear to be invested in winning games.
it’s just 12 games though. we just got done with a coach who made changes any time there was a loss, which is ridiculous. I’m actually pleased that Granato hasn’t done anything rash yet. Hopefully, that will pay off in the long run.
I had thought of that too, but we aren’t talking about Arny sucking for the last couple of games. It goes back to last season. And the defensive woes have happened in almost every game to one extent or the other. We’re almost 15% through with the season, when should he start the radical shake-up machine?
“Accountability” is tossed around to a nauseating degree in sports, but the Avalanche don’t seem to have any. Maybe a coach that has the courage to bench dudes that clearly aren’t giving 100% is what the team needs. Although, right now, that may not leave G with enough guys to field a team.
i haven’t been around much here (work is O_O), but i did catch some of the last games.
I kinda liked the new top 2 lines — Svatos was actually useful when paired with 2 other puck-control masters, and I thought Sakic’s line had some decent pressure. The 3rd remained a debacle, but it was useless before, and the 4th was still solid. I hope he gives them a couple games/practices to try and gel.
I’m starting to wonder if the issues facing this team are more a lack of speed and size. Quick, who on this team is above average in either category? Chicago skated circles around us, SJ outmuscled us…what exactly do the Avs answer with when facing fast or big teams…besides lose?
We have some size and speed collecting dust, and I’d like to see it used. It’s time for Hensick and Jones to be played in favor of the totally average or below Tucker and Arny. But we’ll never see that, because that’s an admission we’re overpaying them. *sigh*-
Hey doc,
I’ve got some thoughts on what you mentioned about overpayment. If I can get off my lazy behind at home one night this week, I’ll bang out a post over at MHH to continue the discussion. As for your first point, I agree, but I’m not sure there is any size in the system with the chops to not be a break-even proposition on this roster. I still think they are wasting a hot hand in Erie by keeping Hensick down though.