The Avs lost to the Sharks 3-2 last night. The Avs played a good game against a strong San Jose team, but found themselves down 3-1 on a fluky goal from Mike Grier. Andrew Brunette would score later to make it 3-2, but it wouldn’t be enough to earn a point. This is not to be confused with Friday’s game, when the Avs played a good game against a strong San Jose team, but found themselves down 3-1 on a fluky goal from Mike Grier and Andrew Brunette’s late goal wasn’t enough to earn a point.
Colorado has played rather good hockey lately. Playing their 3rd game in 3 cities over a span 4 days the Avs played well for 60 minutes, despite missing a ton of players. Joe Sakic missed his 2nd straight game, propelling Paul Stastny to the first line and Tyler Arnason to the 2nd line. The Avalanche had their chances, but San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov, starting his 320th consecutive game this year (actually 25th…out of 25) was outstanding.
The Avalanche defense has been strong of late. They’ve been more physical, better at clearing the zone, and less prone to turn the puck over. They are joining the rush more, starting the rush more, and just playing good all-around hockey in both halves of the rink. I’m interested to see what happens when Jordan Leopold and Kurt Sauer come back, as it would leave the Avs with 8 defensemen playing solid hockey at the moment.
San Jose started the scoring when Milan Michalek beat Jose Theodore at the 3:14 mark. There was barely time to start chanting “Theodore Sucks” when 12 second later the other Milan - Milan Hejduk - took a long head-man pass from Kyle Cumiskey, skated down the right wing, and blasted a rocket past Nabokov.
In the 2nd, Joe Thornton took the puck from Scott Hannan and fed Steve Bernier at the top of the faceoff circle. Bernier’s first shot was blocked by Brett Clark, but Bernier got it back and beat Theodore. All three goals Theo let in were kind of weak in a way, but this is the one that he certainly should have stopped.
Midway through the 3rd, Mike Grier let an innocent looking shot go at the net that took a wild bounce that fooled Theodore. It was an incredibly fluky goal, but it sunk the Avs. Until then, the Avs had been pushing hard against Nabokov (16 shots in the 3rd), but couldn’t beat him. When Grier scored, giving the Sharks a 2-goal lead, you knew the Avs might get one more, but probably not 2 against the razor-sharp Nabokov. Sure enough, Andrew Brunette scored with about 4 minutes left off of a faceoff, but all it did was tease the 15,213 (!) in attendance. The Sharks held on to win 3-2.
The Avs should have had a late powerplay to help in the comeback cause. For the 2nd time in the game, Craig Rivet flattened an Avalanche player before they had a chance to touch a puck. Earlier, it was a hit on Tyler Arnason and late in the 3rd he smashed a puckless Jaroslav Hlinka into the boards. Both were in clear view of the ref, and both were in the same end of the rink. I assume it was the same ref swallowing his whistle, but I’m not sure if it was Gord Dwyer or Wes McCauley. It’s certainly not the reason the Avs lost, but at a time when players are getting injured around the league on similar plays, you’d really like to see stuff like that called.
Game Notes
Game notes from last night are here
Lines
With all the injuries, there were some wild lines last night.
- Stastny, Smyth, Hejduk
- Arnason, Wolski, Hensick
- Richardson, Smith, Brunette
- Guite, Hlinka, McCormick
On defense, Brett Clark and Scott Hannan teamed up again (they spent the first 7 games of the season together before splitting up) and Kyle Cumiskey skated with Karlis Skrastins (a pairing I thought would be a disaster, but wasn’t).
Quick Hits
- Theodore has been the better goalie shorthanded by a country mile. He’s allowed just 4 of the 19 PP goals against the team, compared to 15 for Budaj. His GAA shorthanded is a stellar 3.48 (just a shade worse than his not-so-stellar 3.33 EV GAA). Budaj’s SH GAA is 9.62. Last year, Budaj had a 6.75 GAA, while Theo’s was 8.05.
- Karlis Skrastins has 3 points (1g 2a) in the 5 games he’s played in since returning from his injury.
- John-Michael Liles and Paul Stastny have each been on the ice for 13 of the Avs 16 PP goals scored this year.
Next Up
The Avs travel to Columbus (and the Eastern Time Zone - yay!) on Wednesday to face the upstart Blue Jackets before returning home to host the Flyers on Friday.
Skrastins and Cumiskey was OK last night. They did get lucky when Cumiskey got his pocket picked in the corner and the puck popped out in front of the net to a wide open Shark. Theo made a very good save. Where was Skrastins? He was anticipating a pass behind his own net instead of having position in front of his net. He was simply out of position. Good, stay at home defensemen never do this. Sauer and Finger would never make a mistake like that. That’s why crazy, offensive rushing defensemen need good stay at home guys with them.
I did see the Liles/Cumiskey matchup last game and I was giddy. I loved every 30 seconds of it in a sick, twisted sort of way.
On that second goal, the key faceoff was won by…. Richardson. Arnason could take that draw 50 times and never win a draw in that way.
Wolski, Hensiiick and… Arnason. Really, Arnason? Brunette somehow doesn’t work as a playmaker now? Arnason is going to fill that role? Who thought of these lines? Is Quinville like the guy in Princess Pride who loses the battle of wits against himself? You know, triple guessing if Brunette was feeling well enough to handle that line? If he’s not up to it, um rotate him out for fewer shifts? Inconceivable!
Brunette, Richardson and… Smith. Er, yeah OK. Let’s play a solid set up guy with Richardson who can finish and play defense with a third guy who can repeat what Richardson does and nothing else. If the puck was served up to him in the slot with a perfect feed from behind the net Smith would just fall down. So…. Q turned his 3rd line in to a pseudo non-hard checking defensively minded line.
Guite, McCormick (solid so far, this is making total sense) and …Hlinka. Heh, OK Q, you’re just fucking with us at this point aren’t you? You’re a funny guy. Do I need to even comment on this? It’s absurd.
This isn’t the stock market. There’s no reason to diversify your assets. You score maybe three goals a game on average, why would you spread the wealth?
So you want to reunite Smyth with Hejduk and Stastny. Ok, fine. I really don’t have a huge problem with that even if Hlinka has show no reason he shouldn’t still be playing there. But, whatever. Q has a tinkering itch and it’s got to be scratched. We all have our idiosyncrasies.
Is there something fundamentally wrong with Wolski, Brunette and oh, say Richardson or Hensiick? Set up guy in Brunette, a more rounded forward in Wolski who can also create and your choice of two finishers. Richardson gives you the bonus of winning draws. I don’t think there’s much wrong with that line in either format.
Arnason, Hlinka and Hensiick/Richardson. Too small? I guess. All can score, play on the PP and if they get pushed around you don’t shift them out against bigger lines. You know, that home ice last change benefit. That whole “coaching” thing all coaches do with lines and matchups.
A fourth line of McCormick, Guite and Smith. I’m not going to lie to you, Smith does near nothing for me but he’s good from faceoff circle to faceoff circle if you’re not trying to score goals. Honestly, someone tell me why Smith is better than Guite and how he can get 3rd line minutes when Guite can’t. In fact I dare anyone to make that argument. I just don’t think it can be done.
Last, I really enjoyed the 4v4 line of Smyth and Arnason prior to the PowerPlay. Why don’t we just fast forward the game clock to the powerplay and stop wasting every one’s time? It is possible to score goals prior to the power play. Hlinka/Hejduk? Stastny/Hensiick? Even if it’s just 45 seconds, perhaps at the very least you motivate Hlinka/Hejduk on a shift? You know, something they can chat about or some other side benefit?
Yeah, I’m being really negative. However, it was just a few games ago that Q rolled out great lines, padded a four goal lead and made the game just so… dominate. Instead I think we are rolling out mediocre matchups, trying to spread out the talent for some reason I can’t understand. Surely, Budaj gets in net next game. While I like the fact that Budaj’s playing, I can’t stand the fact that the goalie rotation nightmare won’t do anything but deflate the entire team.
as usual, I agree across the board.
I think you mean Princess BRIDE, not Princess PRIDE. Anyway.
I agree completely with your thoughts on the lines. More than anything else, that is why I think Q should get the axe.
In fact I dare anyone to make that argument. I just don’t think it can be done.
Just wait until Thomas gets here.
Naw, he doesn’t like Smith. So I’m good there. That is until I mention that Sakic is possibly the greatest captain on any current NHL team. That will get him riled up.
Q’s lines were really odd, there’s no question. Arnason on the 2nd over Bruno was the weirdest choice of all. Maybe something with the flu? Smith on the 3rd is so sad I want to cry. Not Hlinka? What?!
* gets on Arnason hating soapbox *
Q’s crush on Arnason is mystifying, because Arnason doesn’t do “Q things” — he’s terrible at faceoffs, lazy, and an inept defender. not to mention he’s the most selfish player on the team in the offensive zone. Why he was ever re-signed is a mystery to me.
Arnason is also a major reason this team is struggling. He’s on pace for just 28 points and 9 goals — well below his 49 and 16 from last year. He only has 3 goals so far, and he’s 3rd on the team in shots! He looks like one of the worst 3rd line centers in the league — can’t do faceoffs, can’t play D, and now he can’t even provide scoring, his only saving grace last year. I really, really, think that getting rid of him — trade, waive, i don’t give a shit — would be addition by subtraction. We have much better options in either Hlinka, Richardson, and Guite.
* climbs off Arnason hating soapbox *
checking Arnason’s stats inspired me to check other stats too, to see who significantly off pace from last year if they played 82 games in each season:
Stastny is on pace for 98 points, a 20 point increase.
Sakic is on pace for 75 points, a 25 point decease (12 less goals)
Brunette is on pace for 58 points, a 25 point decrease (11 less goals)
Svatos is on pace for 36 points, (shockingly) just about where he was last year; however, he’s on pace for 32 goals, 17 more than last year.
Liles is on pace for 18 less points than last year’s 44, a tremendous percentage decrease (on pace for 7 goals, 14 last year)
Clark is on pace for a similar decrease, on pace for 19 points after 39 last year.
Pretty easy to point the finger here. Arnason, Bruno, Sakic, Liles and Clark are having TERRIBLE years so far, without significantly reduced ice time. thank god Stastny is having a great year, Wolski, Hejduk, and Svatos are staying consistent, and the addition of Smyth is working out pretty well or we’d be staring at last place.
Why oh why is Smith still on this team? What a horrid signing! Get rid of him! Put him on waivers! I would rather see Parker with a regular shift than Smith out there!
also: breaking news! Wyatt Smith waived! and there was much rejoicing, if only because we don’t have to watch him playing on the 3rd.
link: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10460&hubname=
Is it too good to be true? I didn’t see that particular news on your link or anywhere on TSN. Now Dater doesn’t have to light himself on fire, if it is true.
Nevermind, I did see it upon further review. Just had to scroll down past the ad. He must not have a two-way contract and they had to expose him before sending him down? I wonder if this means that at least Svatos will be back Wednesday? And how close is Lappy?
it certainly seems to indicate one of the 3 (Sakic, Svatos or Lappy) will be back on Wednesday.
although I think Scott Parker is just ITCHING to play against Duvie Westcott and the rest of the BJs
nevermind on Sakic.
“Sakic (groin) did not practice today and will not play in Wednesday’s game. The Avalanche captain will be reevaluated later this week.”
Meanwhile…
“In other news, both Marek Svatos (groin) and Ian Laperriere (knee) could possibly return to Colorado’s lineup on Wednesday. Quenneville also stated that defenseman Jordan Leopold has been progressing well and has been cleared for contact.”
and, the non-surprising:
“Peter Budaj will get the starting nod in goal for Wednesday’s contest.”
http://avalanche.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=345440
PS Superb timing, Selanne!
WTF?? Smith gets back in the lineup, plays fairly big minutes, then gets waived? I’m not against this by any means, but come on, why even play the guy more minutes than Hlinka if you know he’s not in your plans down the road? That’s crazy.
By the way, nice to see Scott Hannan back in minus territory last night (-2). THE single biggest free agent bust of the summer. Period.
I can’t agree with the Hannan comment. He’s been coming around lately. He’s certainly taken his sweet time to get there, of course, but there’s still lots of time for this to pan out in a good way.
Wait, wait, wait WAIT, WHAAAIT a second.
“What? You pooped in the refrigerator? And you ate the whole… wheel of cheese? How’d you do that? Heck, I’m not even mad; that’s amazing. ”
–Anchor Man
You mean to tell me that the same Wyatt Smith who beat out Hensiiick and Jones for the starting lineup. The SAME Wyatt Smith who got ONE healthy scratch. The SAME WYATT FREAKING SMITH who played on the 3rd line over Hlinka just last night?!
So, let me get this straight. Once the Avs get in to some injury problems, THEN he becomes expendable? Holy Jeebus mother of pearl, I don’t even know what to make of this coaching staff anymore. Of course, waiving Smith is the right thing to do. It just amazes me that the coaching staff saw it NOW of all times.
I’m happy, yet completely pissed off at the same time. How can that happen?
DD - Good to see you’re backing Hannan, but come on - who’s been a bigger free agent bust than him? Who? He has the worst +/- in the ENTIRE league! And it’s worse now than it was a few days ago when I last bitched about it. He’s being outplayed by Jeff Finger. Hell, he’s being outplayed by practically all the other defensemen on the roster.
He’d better start panning pretty quickly - the season’s almost one-third of the way complete. God, what a waste of $4.5 million. We could have had Aaron Miller for a lot less…
http://www.nhl.com/nhlstats/app?service=page&page=Stats&fetchKey=20082ALLDADAll&viewName=plusMinus&sort=plusMinus&pg=9
well, I’m not a big fan of +/- as a stat. It’s useful, but doesn’t tell the whole stroy. Yes, Hannan has struggled. I just think it’s too early to call him (or anyone) a bust 25 games into the season.
+/- is a pretty bad stat, it’s not very indicative of how people play. And a bigger FA bust has been: Souray, and Gomez.
Souray’s been hurt, and I’d argue Gomez (even though I’m no fan). And the fact that Hannan’s in a conversation with only 2 other free agents shows how bad he’s been.
I agree with you guys, +/- is pretty bad (see Skoula, Martin in his Avs’ career). I was just trying to use stats to make a point that actually comes from watching him with my own eyes, as well as the growing disgust I feel for a guy who, for no apparent reason, has decided to play like crap this season for the first time in his career, and he’s doing it with my favorite team.
DD, your point is well made, and I know that, rationally, it’s pretty difficult to call anyone a bust after just 25 games. But I’m not always so rational about the Avs in general, and about guys who underperfom in particular. How about if I upgrade him to “severe disappointment,” instead?
Hope you guys are right, hope he’s playing better.
If Smith is gone, does that mean Hensick might get an extended stay? Other than some half way decent play on the penalty kill Smith had been the biggest question on this team this year. Biggest question as in how the hell did he make the team?
Hannan is the second question on the team. Hopefully we get another healthy defense man back soon and Hannan gets some time in the press box. The second goal last night was a direct result of him not being able to track down the puck and keep it from getting to Thorton. (maybe he thinks Thorton is still on his team?)
Hlinka on the 4th line? I, as many, question if Q has been smoking something funny over the past few weeks because it doesn’t seem to matter what Hlinka does he ends up in Q’s dog house (ala score the only goal in Dallas and gets scratched for two games). The line of Hlinka - Stastny - Hejduk has been good every time they’ve been together.
The goalie-go-round continues, but it looks like maybe the rider will get two rides before having to get off….again what is Q smoking? Somebody get him something better!
You could also mention Chris Drury, Brad Stuart and old friend Brett McLean (1.75 million for 2 points). Dustin Penner has started out slowly. The Islanders seem to love what Bill Guerin is doing in their clubhouse, but his on-ice play (on pace for a whopping 37 points) certainly isn’t all that stellar. You could even throw Ryan Smyth into that mix, although he too has played better lately.
No disagreement that Hannan hasn’t been what we thought we were getting. I’m totally cool with sever disappointment. Well. not cool with it, but you get the idea.
“If Smith is gone, does that mean Hensick might get an extended stay?”
I personally don’t think so, barring additional injuries. Once Lappy, Svatos and Sakic come back, there isn’t going to be enough ice time for Hensick.
Hey Doc,
Was that Arnason-hating soapbox league approved? I might be interested in buying one, but only if it’s got that snazzy new RBK logo on it and everything.
DD,
Dan managed to break your code. His longer URL pushed the whole side bar down the screen.
I now expect you to expend 10 hours solving this rare issue to fix this minor, personal inconvienence that otherwise could be easily ignored.
I can’t be bothered to try to fix the URL, but I can sure take the time to add an ad!
(seriously, I’ve started looking around for an updated theme that can handle stuff like that a bit better)
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