obe24

Minneapolis, MN • United States • 31 Years Old • Male

Avs Blog - Win #1

The Avs finally put up two points. Quick thoughts -

Raycroft played well but wasn't tested much. The two goals allowed were certainly not his fault - a penalty shot and a 5 on 3 pp goal - and he saved the other weak chances the Flyers threw at him. The best thing the Avs can do is put Budaj back in goal Saturday. Do not create a goalie controversy - yet. They proclaimed Budaj the starter in the preseason, don't pull a Hawks and overreact after 4 games.

Power play looked fantastic. Loved seeing Svatos and Wolski out there, and that set play that led to Svatos' goal was very nice. Kudos to Granato for mixing it up and addressing an area that needed improvement. The only blemish was Liles' screw up that led to the penalty shot. A great response though to score on the PP time remaining after the penalty shot goal. Huge moment in the game.

Pk - well, the Avs allowed another goal on the pk. Yes, it was on a 5-3, but Salei can't take that penalty. I like Salei, he's usually a good defensive defenseman, but a few times this season he's been caught flat footed and has had to take a penalty. Big guy needs to move his feet and he'll be fine. Apparently Jones has been given PK duties, and he performed pretty well in that role. He had a great game overall, driving to the net with the puck.

Arnason - looked much better, actually showed up for this game. That was nice of him. He got the puck to Svatos and got open for Wolski. This is the reson Arnason is on the roster. Now he has to perform at this level more often than once every four games.


Bottom line is that both of these teams needed a win, but it was the Avs that looked hungry. Now let's see if they can take it to a Stars team that just got waxed by the Blues. Turco hasn't looked so great so far, so if he's in net, the plan should be to shoot early and often.