The first game of the season started out really good for the Avs, they pushed the pace of the game and outshot the Wild 12-5. Johnny Mitchell scored his 1st of his Avs career to put the Avs up 1-0, and they headed into the intermission with that score. However, the 2nd was simply an awful period for the Avs. They ran into this pattern last year, start how and then fall flat in the 2nd, and that's exactly what happened tonight. Minnesota got goals from Heatley, Granlund (1st career goal) and then Heatley again to put the Wild up 3-1. The avs were able to answer in the 3rd with a rebound goal my Cody McLeod, but they would come no further as Pierre-Marc Bouchard iced it with under 2 minutes left to make it 4-2. Seconds earlier, Steve Downie missed a wide open net that would've tied it, tough break for the Avs. The Avs played good at times and awful at times, but overall inconsistent. Shane O'Brien was scratched for the game, and he was missed the Avs need him out there. They also need to desperately sign O'Reilly, they need him for his offence and defence badly. Overall not a horrible first game, but not the best and the Avs will need much more from Parenteau-Duchene-Landeskog to be successful this season.
Three Stars:
3. John Mitchell - Mitchell had his 1st goal in an Avs sweater, and looked pretty good out there. He was skating well and making good plays, a good thing to see for the future
2. Zach Parise - 2 assists in his 1st game as a Wild player, he looked really sharp out there with Heatley and Koivu
1. Dany Heatley - Was the best player on the ice, Heatley had 2 goals and definitely could have had atleast 1 more
Avalanche Misplay of the Game - Steve Downie/Paul Stastny both missing open nets really cost the Avs tonight, Stastny's in the 1st and Downie's in the 3rd.
Avalanche Play of the Game - John Mitchell's 1st goal as an Av, not pretty but it counts
Game #2 - The Avs head home for their home opener vs. the defending Cup Champ LA Kings on Tuesday night (@9pm)
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lines Part 2 - Goaltending and Defence
After looking at the potential forward lineup for the 2012-2013 Colorado Avalanche, I will now shift my focus to the defensive side of the game; the goaltending and defence. Colorado is looking at a very similar group from last year, with the addition of stay-at-home Greg Zanon the only difference. I will first look at the goalies:
Semyon Varlamov and J.S Giguere
Coach Sacco has already stated this will be the tandem all season long (barring any injuries). He really expressed the two similar but different positions that each player holds as a goaltender for this team, as he noted Varlamov as the young starter and Giguere in the veteran leadership role that is also capable of picking up for a Varlamov if he struggles. Avs goaltending prospects Calvin Pickard, Sami Aittokallio and Kent Patterson will all have to wait their turns respectively, as Coach Sacco didn't invite any to the shortened training camp because he is set on Varlamov and Giguere. Now looking at the potential D pairing and 7th/8th D for the avs:
Pair #1 Erik Johnson and Shane O'Brien
O'Brien really impressed me last season, as a guy who has had trouble sticking with an NHL team he really came into Colorado last season and emerged as one of this teams' vocal leaders. You can see he is an emotional guy on the ice, he never shys away from a hit or sticking up for his teammates. However, being paired with EJ last season developed a huge step in his offensive game as he jumped up into the play more often and had his 2nd best statistical year of his career(3 goals and 17 assists). Johnson is coming off a mediocre first full year in Colorado, and really has to get it going if he wants to be Colorado's anchor of the D. He is capable of being a top-caliber NHL D, but he needs to be consistent and show that he can put up points. Look for this duo to get a lot of minutes early in the season if they play well.
Pair #2 Ryan Wilson and Greg Zanon
Two very underestimated D, as Wilson is both physical and has some offense to his game while Zanon is pure defensive. Zanon will be a huge boost to the avs PK this season, as he is a shot-blocking machine. He will not provide anything in terms of offense (similar to O'Byrne) but is a real solid stay-at-home D that will log good minutes for the avs this season. Wilson, like EJ, needs to find some consistency to his game and he will definitely get a chance to this season
Pair #3 Ryan O'Byrne and Jan Hejda
You would think that the Avs need Elliot in here for offense, but Joe Sacco was keen on improving the D and the Zanon signing shows that. O'Byne and Hejda are both 2 defensive guys, neither will wow you with skill or speed (as both are rather slow) but they will be important PK guys along with Zanon. If either struggles, look for Elliot/Hunwick to take their spot.
7th/8th bench D Stefan Elliot and Matt Hunwick
The avs have depth at D, and it will benefit them if any current D gets hurt. This situation is not in favour for both youngsters Elliot and Barrie, as the avs have 7 NHL D with the 6 I listed and Hunwick. Hunwicks play last season certainly gets him on this roster, although he will have trouble fighting for a top 6 spot. Between Elliot and Barrie, if the avs keep 8 D and not 7, the avs take the more experienced and I think better Stefan Elliot.
So the D and Goalie Situation looks as follows:
Johnson-O'Brien
Wilson-Zanon
Hejda-O'Byrne
Hunwick
Elliot
Varlamov
Giguere
Avs training camp continues with day 2 on Monday, still no word on Ryan O'Reilly which is really dissapointing that the avs haven't been able to reach a deal yet. We are 5 days away from the NHL season to begin, I AM BEYOND EXCITED. GO AVS GO
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Colorado Avalanche Projected Lines Part 1 - Forwards
With the end of the lockout, I know have time to look at what the potential 2012-2013 (specifically 2013 cause of the stupid lockout) Colorado Avalanche Roster is. I will look at the forwards, defenceman and goaltenders separately and explain what combinations/lines and why. Starting with the forwards:
Line #1 LW: Gabriel Landeskog C: Matt Duchene RW: PA Parenteau
Duchene moves back into his role as the #1 C, and having Landeskog and Parenteau on his wing is really going to benefit him. The line will have a lot of talent, as Landeskog does pretty much everything at both ends while Duchene and Parenteau excel offensively. Duchene and Landeskog will benefit from the play-making ability of Parenteau, and if this is indeed the top line look for a lot of production.
Line #2 LW: Jamie McGinn C: Ryan O'Reilly RW Steve Downie
This has the potential to be a 2nd or 3rd line, but I see this line becoming one of the leagues toughest to play against. O'Reilly is already turning into one of the games best defensive forwards, and pending his contract issues he will look to build on his solid play last year. McGinn and Downie were both acquired at the trade deadline, and made immediate impacts last season. Downie had 13 points in 20 games, including 10 in his first 7 games as an av. McGinn played 17 games for the avs, scoring 8 goals and 13 points in that time. Both guys provided an offensive spark, but also are physical forwards and this line can have that nasty edge thats tough to play (especially Downie)
Line #3 LW David Jones C Paul Stastny RW Milan Hejduk
This is the 3rd/2nd line however you look at it, just is more offensive-minded then the O'Reilly line. All 3 players have skill, but have struggled the past few seasons behind the younger forwards emerging (Landeskog Duchene O'Reilly). Look for this line to contribute when on, but struggle at times as well.
Line #4 LW Cody McLeod C John Mitchell RW Olver
Very standard 4th line, McLeod hits and fights, Olver is all hustle, and Mitchell is new to the team and is a good utility forward to replace McClement.
13th Forward: Michael Sgarbossa - the young forward acquired from the Sharks is playing well in his first pro season, with 13 goals and 28 points in 34 games with the avs AHL affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters. Chuck Kobasew/Mike Connolly/Brad Malone just miss the cut
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
Line #1 LW: Gabriel Landeskog C: Matt Duchene RW: PA Parenteau
Duchene moves back into his role as the #1 C, and having Landeskog and Parenteau on his wing is really going to benefit him. The line will have a lot of talent, as Landeskog does pretty much everything at both ends while Duchene and Parenteau excel offensively. Duchene and Landeskog will benefit from the play-making ability of Parenteau, and if this is indeed the top line look for a lot of production.
Line #2 LW: Jamie McGinn C: Ryan O'Reilly RW Steve Downie
This has the potential to be a 2nd or 3rd line, but I see this line becoming one of the leagues toughest to play against. O'Reilly is already turning into one of the games best defensive forwards, and pending his contract issues he will look to build on his solid play last year. McGinn and Downie were both acquired at the trade deadline, and made immediate impacts last season. Downie had 13 points in 20 games, including 10 in his first 7 games as an av. McGinn played 17 games for the avs, scoring 8 goals and 13 points in that time. Both guys provided an offensive spark, but also are physical forwards and this line can have that nasty edge thats tough to play (especially Downie)
Line #3 LW David Jones C Paul Stastny RW Milan Hejduk
This is the 3rd/2nd line however you look at it, just is more offensive-minded then the O'Reilly line. All 3 players have skill, but have struggled the past few seasons behind the younger forwards emerging (Landeskog Duchene O'Reilly). Look for this line to contribute when on, but struggle at times as well.
Line #4 LW Cody McLeod C John Mitchell RW Olver
Very standard 4th line, McLeod hits and fights, Olver is all hustle, and Mitchell is new to the team and is a good utility forward to replace McClement.
13th Forward: Michael Sgarbossa - the young forward acquired from the Sharks is playing well in his first pro season, with 13 goals and 28 points in 34 games with the avs AHL affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters. Chuck Kobasew/Mike Connolly/Brad Malone just miss the cut
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
HOCKEY IS BACK
What a glorious day it is for hockey fans, The NHL and NHLPA have agreed in principle on a new CBA contract. It has been a long and dreadful 4 months of the lockout, and hockey fans have endured enough. The way I see it, there are two types of reactions people have to this news: The "true" hockey fans who will watch the game no matter what, and the Negative Nancy's who only look at the negatives. To start off, I have to state that I think the NHL and NHLPA have been fighting pointlessly this entire lockout. While there are so many reasons to hate on the NHL, I love the game of hockey too much not to be excited. For months I just didn't understand what had happened to our sport, it has become all about money and so much less about the game we love and play. Now that hockey is on the verge of coming back, we must simply embrace the positive nature of hockey coming back rather than look at all the reasons this season is "flawed" or "ridiculous."
Colorado Avalanche:
The most exciting thing about the lockout coming to a close is that I finally get to see the Avs play again, I think that last season they were on the verge of becoming a playoff team again and this year will be really positive for several reasons:
Reason #1 - Number 92
Lost in the hype of the lockout months ago, the Avs named their youngest player Gabriel Landeskog the captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history. Landeskog was phenomenal last season, taking home the Calder Tropy as NHL's top rookie. However, I don't think anyone saw him getting the C this early; he was known as a great leader, and potential future captain of the Avs, but his impact in his 1st season was obvious from the 1st game. He has all the great leadership qualities at such a young age, and im sure every Avs fan agrees with me when saying that he has an extremely bright future ahead
Reason #2 - Depth at forward
The Avs went out and made a big acquisition on July 1st, signing winger PA Parenteau to a 4 year 16-million dollar contract. Parenteau is coming off 2 extremely strong years in New York, having played on a line with Johnny Tavares for most of it. The avs also made two big trades at the deadline last year, acquiring forwards Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie to give the avs some grit and scoring help. With those 3 plus the Avs core (Duchene Landeskog O'Reilly Stastny Hejduk Jones) the Avs are looking at a very solid top 9, one that could give opposing defences a very tough time.
Reason #3 - Goaltending
The Avs goaltending situation was challenging at times last year, both Varlamov and Giguere played very well for certain stretches but also very inconsistent for others. Varlamov started the season very hot, then he was replaced by Giguere for a month or so until he regained his form post trade-deadline and really looked sharp. Varlamov is still very young, and I believe that he will be a great goalie for the Avs this season. Giguere is there for leadership more than anything, but if the situation arises like last year expect Giguere to be ready to share the load as much as possible.
One of the best days in a long, long time. Hockey is back, Go Avs Go
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
Colorado Avalanche:
The most exciting thing about the lockout coming to a close is that I finally get to see the Avs play again, I think that last season they were on the verge of becoming a playoff team again and this year will be really positive for several reasons:
Reason #1 - Number 92
Lost in the hype of the lockout months ago, the Avs named their youngest player Gabriel Landeskog the captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history. Landeskog was phenomenal last season, taking home the Calder Tropy as NHL's top rookie. However, I don't think anyone saw him getting the C this early; he was known as a great leader, and potential future captain of the Avs, but his impact in his 1st season was obvious from the 1st game. He has all the great leadership qualities at such a young age, and im sure every Avs fan agrees with me when saying that he has an extremely bright future ahead
Reason #2 - Depth at forward
The Avs went out and made a big acquisition on July 1st, signing winger PA Parenteau to a 4 year 16-million dollar contract. Parenteau is coming off 2 extremely strong years in New York, having played on a line with Johnny Tavares for most of it. The avs also made two big trades at the deadline last year, acquiring forwards Jamie McGinn and Steve Downie to give the avs some grit and scoring help. With those 3 plus the Avs core (Duchene Landeskog O'Reilly Stastny Hejduk Jones) the Avs are looking at a very solid top 9, one that could give opposing defences a very tough time.
Reason #3 - Goaltending
The Avs goaltending situation was challenging at times last year, both Varlamov and Giguere played very well for certain stretches but also very inconsistent for others. Varlamov started the season very hot, then he was replaced by Giguere for a month or so until he regained his form post trade-deadline and really looked sharp. Varlamov is still very young, and I believe that he will be a great goalie for the Avs this season. Giguere is there for leadership more than anything, but if the situation arises like last year expect Giguere to be ready to share the load as much as possible.
One of the best days in a long, long time. Hockey is back, Go Avs Go
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
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