Avs Dominated by Calgary
Posted 2:58 PM ET | Comments 7
Keenan was pissed off at his team after getting their doors blown off in San Jose, and that translated to his team's attitude as the Flames came out and dominated play against the Avs Tuesday night. Sorry haters, you'll have to wait another game to shriek about Budaj, as he was only tights and a cape away from being a superhero and stealing this game for the Avs. He fought off some weird bounces in the first period to stop 47 of 50 shots with one of those goals coming in garbage time.
Apart from Budaj's strong play, the silver lining in this game was again the Avs penalty killing. The PKers are pressuring the puck when appropriate, filling the shooting lanes, and clearing the puck on the first try. The Avs killed off all 8 penalties until the garbage time goal by Moss at the end of the game. Again, it's no coincidence that when Budaj plays well, the PK is effective. Not only does a hot goalie stop all the pucks, but he inspires confidence in the defenders to pressure the puck and force mistakes in situations that they otherwise wouldn't.
I agree with Granato in that the Avs came out and played pretty well at the start of the game, but they couldn't recover momentum from constantly killing penalties. Svatos' goal was very nice and is what Avs' fans are used to seeing from him - close quarters finishing shot, upstairs off a nice feed. Svatos needs guys to get him the puck, and Wolski and Hensick can both do that when on their games. It's hardly even worth mentioning line combos as they were a jumble most of the night due to the immense amount of time spent killing penalties.
I was most disappointed with the Avs first power play of the evening at 1:51 of the third period. They had just killed off a long 5 on 3 and had only 2 seconds remaining on Wolski's penalty. It was a great opportunity to use the momentum from the kill to apply some pressure on Kipper, who had not seen much action. A goal to take the lead is a dagger to the Flames who had controlled the game to that point, but even if the Avs don't score, just to apply some pressure to get some fire going offensively could have turned the third period around. Instead, the Avs did almost nothing on the PP, and the Flames went on to control play for the rest of the period and win the game.
Anyways, the Avs didn't deserve to be in that game, let alone win. Hopefully Granato can use this game as an object lesson. They will have to be much better in Denver on Thursday against this same Flames team. The Avs can still hit my goal for them in this stretch against NW opponents - 3-1 - by winnng Thursday. I've joked about the streakiness of this team, but they absolutely cannot afford any more prolonged slumps such as their previous 5 game skid. The game Thursday becomes a big one for that reason - hopefully they come out flying.
Apart from Budaj's strong play, the silver lining in this game was again the Avs penalty killing. The PKers are pressuring the puck when appropriate, filling the shooting lanes, and clearing the puck on the first try. The Avs killed off all 8 penalties until the garbage time goal by Moss at the end of the game. Again, it's no coincidence that when Budaj plays well, the PK is effective. Not only does a hot goalie stop all the pucks, but he inspires confidence in the defenders to pressure the puck and force mistakes in situations that they otherwise wouldn't.
I agree with Granato in that the Avs came out and played pretty well at the start of the game, but they couldn't recover momentum from constantly killing penalties. Svatos' goal was very nice and is what Avs' fans are used to seeing from him - close quarters finishing shot, upstairs off a nice feed. Svatos needs guys to get him the puck, and Wolski and Hensick can both do that when on their games. It's hardly even worth mentioning line combos as they were a jumble most of the night due to the immense amount of time spent killing penalties.
I was most disappointed with the Avs first power play of the evening at 1:51 of the third period. They had just killed off a long 5 on 3 and had only 2 seconds remaining on Wolski's penalty. It was a great opportunity to use the momentum from the kill to apply some pressure on Kipper, who had not seen much action. A goal to take the lead is a dagger to the Flames who had controlled the game to that point, but even if the Avs don't score, just to apply some pressure to get some fire going offensively could have turned the third period around. Instead, the Avs did almost nothing on the PP, and the Flames went on to control play for the rest of the period and win the game.
Anyways, the Avs didn't deserve to be in that game, let alone win. Hopefully Granato can use this game as an object lesson. They will have to be much better in Denver on Thursday against this same Flames team. The Avs can still hit my goal for them in this stretch against NW opponents - 3-1 - by winnng Thursday. I've joked about the streakiness of this team, but they absolutely cannot afford any more prolonged slumps such as their previous 5 game skid. The game Thursday becomes a big one for that reason - hopefully they come out flying.
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09 Avs Blog - Preseason thoughts
10 Avs Blog - Game 1 and Roster Thoughts
14 Avs Blog - Goalies and Style Points
16 Avs Blog - Three games in
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
21 Avs Blog - 3 in a row
27 Avs Blog - 5 in a row
10 Avs Blog - Game 1 and Roster Thoughts
14 Avs Blog - Goalies and Style Points
16 Avs Blog - Three games in
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
17 Avs Blog - Win #1
21 Avs Blog - 3 in a row
27 Avs Blog - 5 in a row
06 4 in a row
07 5 in a row
10 Off the cold streak
13 Budaj's Best
17 Avs Steal Two Points in Edmonton
18 Stastny Signs Extension
19 Avs Dominated by Calgary
22 Punchless Avs Lose Again
24 Avs pick up 2 pts in LA
25 Avs worst game?
07 5 in a row
10 Off the cold streak
13 Budaj's Best
17 Avs Steal Two Points in Edmonton
18 Stastny Signs Extension
19 Avs Dominated by Calgary
22 Punchless Avs Lose Again
24 Avs pick up 2 pts in LA
25 Avs worst game?
01 Avs Take 4 of 6 pts on Holiday Weekend
02 Avs' Wild Victory
07 Avs Get Only 1 pt in Last Two Games
08 Avs Somehow End Up With Win
11 Best Avs Game of Late Overshadowed By Sakic News
13 Avs Let One Slip Away
16 Avs Come Up With A Big One
17 Avs on Wrong End of Winning Formula
28 Avs Again Top Wings
30 Avs Beat Turtles - er - Preds
02 Avs' Wild Victory
07 Avs Get Only 1 pt in Last Two Games
08 Avs Somehow End Up With Win
11 Best Avs Game of Late Overshadowed By Sakic News
13 Avs Let One Slip Away
16 Avs Come Up With A Big One
17 Avs on Wrong End of Winning Formula
28 Avs Again Top Wings
30 Avs Beat Turtles - er - Preds
Another good blog Obe. The game was terrible to watch, but Budaj played like a hero.The forwards forgot to show up, and the D forgot how to make a head man pass for the break out. Better get it fixed by tomorrow.
Watching the Power Play. Smyth needs to move two steps forward when he's on the side of the net. He missed a golden opportunity on the PP because he was too deep. Also, the Avs have to exert themselves offensively. They need to play with urgency, like they were in the beginning of the year when their offense was running the team. They need to find a way to combine offense with defense. They can't seem to play both at once. If they can't figure that out, Granato must be replaced.
Best Avs blogger ever.
Thanks Brax and sreekers. Martok - I don't know if it's positioning, coaching or bad luck, but yeah, Smyth just doesn't seem to be where the rebounds are bouncing lately. Forget two steps, I wish he spent more time directly in front of the net being a pest and sitting in the goalie's lap - that's his strength.
Sometimes it feels like the forwards are trying to figure out Granato's system. It seems to be a use the fast rush, then bang it in around the net. The problem is that they tend to get clogged up in the neutral zone a lot! Arnason is the worst at it, he needs to dump it deep rather than try and beat the defenseman at the blue line like he does. I still believe that changes are headed the Avs way, it will be interesting to see where and how they happen.
sreekers - I agree with most of that. I am definitely tired of seeing Arnie try to put the puck through d-man's legs at the blue line every time. Seriously, it's not pond hockey. It works maybe 1 in 20 times. The other 19 times it's a transition opportunity going the other way.
I was listening to Home Ice on XM today, and Phil Esposito said he believes that Granato's job is most in danger to be be next. Any thoughts? I also read on ESPN that Leopold is on the trading block, possibly for Vermette. Any thoughts on that as well?