Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1458
Location: Denver
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 Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:46 pm Post subject: Postgame thoughts: Saturday Night's Main Event |
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Attended this game in person w/the Little Nebraskan and her friends. Avs win against the dreaded Preds 4-2 in a game just a bit closer than that score would indicate.
1. The line of Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk was easily the best of the night. The second best being the hard-hitting line of Guite-Laperriere-McCormick. It's good to see an Avs line provide the physicality and energy the team as a whole so desperately needs.
2. Avs as a whole, on top of being too small, too soft, and a still a bit too lazy, are still way too slow. Giggy and the crew need to realize that if you're going to keep guys like Brunette, Stastny, and Smyth around (God forbig Q ever puts those three on a line together) then you need to work that much harder to offset the lack of speed by getting some better skaters in the lineup.
3. Way too early to tell for sure, but so far TJ Hensick, filling in for the injured Joe Sakic, is looking like the next coming of Tyler Arnason. I seriously didn't even notice him out there on the ice...ever. I only caught sight of him on the Avs bench wearing Drury's old #37.
4. We need something remotely resembling a third line. Jaro Hlinka is a nice start, the guy puts forth a valiant effort, has good hands, and plays good-enough defense, but we need more, a line that can actually shut down the opposition's offense with confidence.
5. I think Wolski and Svatos were Hensick's linemates. Talk about indifferent play all-around. Wolski was only visible those times when he made half-assed attempts to forecheck. He shows flashes of using his size to his advantage, hitting along the boards and playing a solid puck-possession game, but more often than not he expects his linemates to do the dirty work for him. Svatos is still trying to avoid the scrappy physical style of play that makes him most effective, yet leads to his many injuries.
6. The g/f got mad at me for cheering for Lappy in a fight. Sure, it was Vernon friggin' Fiddler Lappy was fighting, but that's not the reason she was mad at me.
7. Shots at Brooklyn's are WAY too expensive.
8. Now I'm saying with definitive proof, signing Brett Clark to a two-year extension was a huge mistake. He was a stopgap measure, a fill-in, not a guy to anchor your blueline off of, his defensive-zone coverage is cringe-worthy the way he looks so friggin' indecisive. He was on the ice for Gelinas's goal, scored the way it usually is scored when Clark is on the ice, right in front of the net because Clark doesn't know how to cover anyone in the slot.
9. Kyle Cumiskey has amazing hands for a d-man, the best offensively-skilled blueliner the Avs have as far as moving the puck, don't think he has JML's powerful-yet-inaccurate shot. He's better in his own end than I gave him credit for, but he's still terribly undersized and gets pushed around rather easily. He seems to work best with a guy like Hannan who can create some room for him to do his thing. JML's days are certainly numbered, I'd be shocked if he were still here after the deadline.
10. Man if we can just get Jordan Leopold to stay healthy. He really makes a difference, plays the body well, and his cannon from the point is wonderfully accurate. Scored his first of the season with a laser past Mason (I think it was Mason...Trotz would be a fool to start anyone else against us) between Brunette's legs, who was setting up a perfect screen in front.
All in all, the Avs show great promise but they've got serious flaws that'll keep them from being anything other than an 8/9th place team in the standings. If not for the relative mediocrity of the NW and the league in general they'd be in serious trouble. |
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