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1. Interfering with Anderson, especially that little puke Draper.
2. Diving.
Do refs even make those two calls any more?
Two red flags I see:
1. Anderson playing too much. He'll be worn down too soon.
2. Can't clear the zone. Too much chipping the puck up the boards. Half the time the other team is just standing at the boards and we gift-wrap it for them. We need to try making more outlet passes.
On the plus side again, I really underestimated Sacco as a coach. He is able to do what Granato couldn't - create a responsible forecheck and get some real effort out of the guys. Great job.
I was fortunate to watch O’Reilly and Matt play their minor hockey. These guys are use to logging lots of ice time. It is nice to see them excel at the NHL level.
O'Reilly has impressed me with his ability to win so many faceoffs.
Anderson is playing with so much confidence that he is near impossible to beat and the team responds to that.
I've seen them outplayed for periods on end, then they get interested or desperate and everything falls into place. They seem to be capitalizing on every chance. Not sure how long this will continue.
If the AVS every put in a full 60 minute effort they will be scary for any opponent.
Enjoy the ride, you could be TO!
It's truly been a team effort game in, game out. Andy has been a rock, seemingly allowing a different player or two to shine each game. Tonight it was Stewart and Galiardi. I remember Jones having his night. Then it was Cumiskey. Wolski early on. Stastny had his against Carolina. Truly a team game.
...
Yet Adam Foote was once again the worst defenseman on the ice. I am wondering when this topic will get out of the blasphemous territory it's in right now, and people start recognizing that our Captain is completely lost out there.
Cumiskey has to retrieve every single puck, initiate every single breakout, and still leave his side when Foote is completely turned inside out and left down on the ice. This has to stop, time to see the light and acknowledge that #52 is way, way past it.
We need to work on clearing the puck (we did great at this during the PK last night but 5-5 we seem to suck at it) And we need to work on taking less penalties.
All the penalties we took last night we deserved, some were slightly weak but I wouldn't have complained about them at all if Detroit were getting called for their obvious dives and goaltender interferences.
We also have to remember that Liles is a huge part of our powerplay and getting him back should help our offense. Tucker and McLeod are also rough to play against so when they get back we'll add some more grit that can score too.
A lot of people say we're relying on luck, but luck comes to those who play hard. We've been playing hard, so we've been getting luck on our side.
Last year we played like bags of peanuts=no luck.
Still hesitant we'll do much this year, but for now I'm liking this team, and not just anderson
GO AVS
Also, most of his starts have been on the road. Much easier to play goalie on the road. He has looked very, very iffy in his last two starts at the Can. You are all basing your suggestions about Anderson after 11 starts. That's ridiculous.
I'd suggest enjoying his success and waiting to see how he does.
I don't know why people having been saying that it's so much easier to play on the road. A good roadtrip is coming out at .500, right? With the rules about home teams sending lines out last on faceoffs and, so, always getting the match-ups they want, well, that's a big advantage.
Brian Burke will get fired before the Leafs make the playoff in 2099.
I know it is early season but i cant see the Avs playing so bad to miss the playoff. Avs won without JM Liles and Mcleod in a back to back game. I know the wings are weak but still pretty good. Some are impress by the number of shot the wings had last night but dont forget we spend the third in the box thanks to the most gifted skill player Holmstrom. Babcock was fuming all night long, its only gonna get worst if they dont get a num1 goaltender, they sure miss Hossa on the first line.
What was thought to be a losing team, can now compete most nights. I am not so sure about this coaching staff, the first place seed with somehow not out shooting the opposition, is a sign of a weak coaching staff in my opinion. They have had time to adjust, but can't seem to improve..they are fun to watch and sure do have a cupboard full of young talent. Time to unload Salei, Clark and Boods...free up the salary and sign a top winger for Duchene in the off season....maybe Kovalchuk?
dater, what is this new habit other team's forwards have of running the netminder? this must stop - what is the league going to do about it - anything? or is their plan to sit on their hands for another year while teams lose their stars. i saw lundquist get run the other night, and they're really going after fleury in pittsburgh. i don't know how one of these guys hasn't been seriously hurt - and, it's only the first rate players - andy must be held in high regard to have so much traffic in his kitchen.
good to see stewie get one and good to see "it is what it is" get none - again. hate that guy. why is he still playing? oh yes, because i'm pretty sure he must have tapes of someone up high, somewhere doing something down low that they shouldn't have been doing...
I can't wait to read all the excuses from the Wings "fans" now. Where's that guy that said they would've won last week had Datsyuk played?
I also think we need a top 6 LW for Deuce. He would do much better with a big skilled guy like Ponikarovsky or Stalberg on his LW! With Wilson playing so well and Liles due back maybe Burke would take Cumiskey and Svatos in a package trade.
When do you suppose Liles might return?
Andy's been great, but so has the offense as the continue to score just enough goals. (7 one goal games). It's the defense that might need to step up just a little bit more and limit the other teams chances.
Liles, Salei, Preissing, Hendricks, Tucker, McLeod. The injuries, again, are piling up. Add Foote to that list if he keeps taking slap shots to the face every weekend.
And I agree AD, Andy could not just keep bailing this team out. I guess the upside is that this team is definitely playing a lot better than last year, and we can definitely see that something is being done. Glad Johnny will be back soon.
As for Phanuef, NO THANK YOU!
Wolski is worthless. He wouldn't even have a job in the NHL if not for Gary Bettman's Circus Show (otherwise known as the shootout.)
Svatos is worthless. I shouldn't even have to say why. Everyone knows.
Clark is a # 7 defenseman on any other team.
You're a f**king idiot if you think that a) the flames would ever trade Dion, and b) that if they ever would, that they would trade him to one of their most hated division rivals.
Go back to sucking on your thumb.
1. There is no rivalry with Detroit anymore. It's over. Get that through your heads. It's over. It doesn't matter who wins what games. To Detroit players and fans, the rivalry is now with Chicago. The Avs aren't in the same division as the Wings. The Avs rivalry is with Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, or Minnesota. You all pick one.
2. Your goaltender, as Dater has explained, has bailed out his lackluster teammates, far, far too often this year. Yeah, he's got a sparkling record. So what? If there is even one person who really, truly believes that the Avs would have this record without him playing over his head or getting insane help from his goal posts, then you are nuts. If Bertuzzi tucks home his semi-breakaway chance, the game is over. Stewart's post shot just happened to go in. There was nothing spectacular about that shot. It just happened to go in.
3. Paul Stastny is just a horrible player. Sure, he puts up some points, but any player who repeatedly puts his team in the hole by taking the dumbest penalties on the planet, does not deserve to be wearing an "A" on his sweater. He's just flailing his stick around out there. He must lead the league in stick related fouls. He's dangerous. He could have easily seriously injured Zetterberg. That should have been a 5 minute major and match penalty for intent to injure.
4. Your golden "Douche" is one pace for 8 goals. That's pretty awful for a 3rd round pick.
5. You complain about teams running Anderson. That's a laugh. How about realizing that Anderson should get called for slashing players at least 12 times a game. Anderson instigates contact with the players who's job it is to screen the goaltender.
6. Most of you have forgotten that the Avs are still rebuilding. They aren't going to win anything this year, or next year, or the year after. However, if they keep jerking around, they're going to end up in 17th place in the league standings instead of finishing in the bottom 3-5 again. They need to finish low in the standings for at least 3-4 more years. They need the excellent draft position. They have to restock the farm system. One year rebuilds do not work in the NHL.
7. The Avs are going to be in major trouble should Anderson end up on long term injury. And that said, maybe a division rival does decide to "run" Anderson and injure him. That might be just the way of knocking the Avalanche off their high horse. It's been done before.
Maybe you missed the game on Friday but the Avs proved if it gets to a high scoring game they can win those type of games.
From what do you conclude that Stastny and Duchene are terrible?? That is your own stupid opinion. It isn't shared by anyone that actually reports on hockey.
Any decent goalie will retaliate against players crowding inside the crease.
The Avs have been rebuilding and it isn't just this year's rookie sensations that are helping so much. Jones, Stewart, McLeod, and Stastny have all been doing well.
The Ryan Smyth trade bringing in Quincey has benefited the Avs as much as the Kings. Cumiskey has made mistakes but is another young player developed by the Avs.
I
I read somewhere (certainly not the Denver Post) that in the Detroit game that Galiardi was centering the third line. Since I am here in NC, the only game I have seen this year was the Carolina game. I assume that this was incorrect and that O'Reilly was centering line 3 with Galiari on the LW.
I have enjoyed a chuckle that all conversations (on a league wide basis) about the Calder trophy have totally ignored O'Reilly. Sounds like a big mistake to me. A.D. can you help me out here: I did observe that Duchene has tremendous skills. Is his -3 compared to +10 for O'Reilly, because D is playing on a #2 line against tougher opponents or is there really something special about O'Reilly. He seems to be making whoever plays on his line a star. McLeod, Galiardi, Stewart, Wolski, etc. Getting so much productivity out of the 3 line has certainly helped the overall offense and actually compensated for some lackluster play (at times) on 1&2.
tough luck you lost Grand Pa Chelios this year ! ho by the way TANK YOU TANK YOU TANK YOU for letting the AVS pick in the second round Ryan O'Reilly and good luck with Landon Ferraro !
It's amazing to me that Sacco refuses to put Budaj in. I also don't buy the whole flu story. I think Sacco is scared stiff to put Budaj in net.
Brains need exercise to keep supple. Maybe you could get yours a personal trainer. On another note, you can bite me for insulting my kid.
Bert may only have one goal this season, but it's one goal more than Steve Moore has, ain't it?
I still cant stand Draper, but last night when he scored, it didn't faze me at all. I knew we would own those fools by the end of the night, AGAIN. Lots of credit to Joe Sacco, seems to be a great hire...
I think we might still see a structured "collapse" at some point around the all-star break, where Boods or another goalie is given some ice, injuries are avoided, and the rest of the division catches up while the Avs rest. But if they do it right, this "rebuilding" team will still be in position for the post.
Ironically, I think a lot of this success goes to the Avs fans ... for better or worse, our general distaste for supporting losing teams has forced Kroenke to give Lacoix the tools he needs to do his job.
What have any of you done to help Steve Moore? Have any of you contributed to his legal fees? Have any of you written letters to him?
No. I rest my case. Screw all of you.
I would really caution other Avs fans about spouting off about how great this team is. They are not great. They have been together all of 11 games. This team, aside from a few injuries, has gotten virtually every break available this entire season. They have had their goaltender bail out a very suspect defense. Eleven games in, we still have no idea how this team will or will not respond to not having Anderson in net, and that's a very bad thing.The team is consistently taking really bad penalties, and for whatever reason, it has not yet burned them badly. But going to that well once too often will ultimately kill this team. O'Reilly seems to have arrived, but Duchene looks entirely lost 95% of the time. I think the Avs really need to strongly consider sending him back to Brampton. He is not scoring, which is what is needed from your centers. He is not setting people up for chances. He is forcing everything.
This team has been really, really fortunate this year. Don't be fooled. I love my Avs, but this team is playing with fire every night. They are letting luck and fortune dictate their play. This is not a team that is as good as it might appear. Don't get too high on them. You're just going to end up really disappointed.
So yes, our new Avs have all sorts of problems, and they're getting lucky, but they're a new team, they have fire guys like Stewart and Wilson that seem to have mounds of energy that they're trying to direct. These are my beloved Avs in rebuilding mode. Stast is trying to find a way to direct his unfathomable talent in a way that syncs with the rest of the team, the vets are obviously holding back a bit to let the new guys take the wheel, and of course Sacco is tooling the lines.
But of course the elephant in the room is Anderson, and the fact that he has that he seems to have this beautiful blue-collar approach toward goalkeeping; he wants to do well, he says he wants to stay in Denver the rest of his career if he can keep up the numbers, and he does what a good goalie should do, he goes into a place in his mind where he seems to will the pucks his way, he seems to love the battle.
Yes, I love the Avs leading the NHL in wins, but that wasn't the point of this season. This was supposed to be the season where the new Avs finally cut their own rock, and I was looking forward to just that, fully prepared to see a conventional rebuilding for the next three years or so. But apparently Sacco has something else in mind.
So before we accept your miserable prediction of our Avs, you need to first realize that many of us weren't expecting even the half of this. We would have been happy to see a few wins and watch the formation of an eventual powerhouse. I'll still be happy with that, but this story apparently wants to write itself.
2) Anderson can play as many games as Luongo
3) The D needs better coaching
You Avs bashers come in here and tell us we're stupid for judging Anderson after 11 games when you all say Duchene is a flop after 11 games. HYPOCRITES.
How about you all go back to your own team. If you want to come here and discuss hockey, watch some Avs games instead of looking at a stat sheet and then someone will take you seriously.
And I guess you also think that the Penguins had an unsuccessful season then? they weren't undefeated. According to you success=winning every game.
Duchene is going to take some time but he is the real deal. O'Reilly is going to be a star and I am pleased with him. Stewart has potential, but he is young. David Jones needs more time but I really believe he has the ability to be a VERY good power forward. Wolski is going to find out it is easier to play hard for Sacco than to sit the bench all of the time. Stastny is the real deal and I don't know why we are even doubting his value. He is an ASSIST guy.
The Defense for sure needs work, and TIME. Anderson was one piece on the backend. We need a younger shut down guy like what Foote used to be. Shattenkirk will take some time to get there but will make it.
The think that we all need to do is enjoy the wins while we get them, and enjoy the time we get to watch this young team grow up. If the Avs organization is committed to the rebuild we will experience some ups and downs, but we will have our day again.
Enjoy the ride, this is all about the potential!