It seems that the avs haven't figured out their woes at home, as they put everything towards Mike Smith tonight but only to score 1 goal on 40 shots. At some point, the avs need to figure out their game at home or it is going to be a tough season for them despite a good start. The avs found themselves out-dueled in the faceoff dot for the first time this season, losing 36 of 66 faceoffs. I was only able to catch the first period and a bit of the second before going to my own hockey game, but it seemed that the avs were creating scoring chances just not capitalizing. There have been several similar games like this (e.g. vs Edmonton) where the avs pour on the shots but can't muster up any offence. It seems that the only line really clicking for the avs once again is the OWL line, as they produced the only goal. While Varlamov didn't play amazing, he played alright and the avs are starting to lose games without being able to produce anything for Varly at the other end. While he has played exceptionally well so far, he isn't going to steal every game, and the avs found that out tonight losing to a more defensive Coyotes team. Overall, this wasn't as horrible as some of the other losses this season, but the avs really need to start fixing their scoring issues particularly at home. I think it is time to pull a trigger on a trade and get Matt Duchene a winger he can become comfortable with (something they've lacked since Fleishmann last season, who I hated seeing them let go I thought it was a no brainer to keep him after his hot start with the avs).
Avalanche Three Stars:
3. Ryan O'Byrne - Picked up an assist on the only avs goal, and was the only avs player in the plus tonight with +1 in almost 15 minutes of work
2. Daniel Winnik - Probably the most underrated player on the roster, he gets overshadowed by Landeskog and O'Reilly, but Daniel is really playing well this season and his line is by far the best. He picked up an assist on O'Reilly's goal
1. Ryan O'Reilly - The young centre is off to a great start this season, finding his offensive game and he scored the lone avs goal. He now has 2 goals and 7 assists to lead the avs in points with 9
Misplay of the Game: Jan Hejda failing to clear the puck, leading to the Coyotes 2nd goal scored by Vrbata gets it tonight
Game #13 - The avs head to Dallas to meet the streaking Stars on Friday night (@830pm)
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
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