Offensivley Challenged Avs: Pathetic Scoring Stats

Alright lets crunch some numbers. We promise you it will be more fun than math class. We have been hearing  a lot from fans in forums and on Twitter that the Avs would be playing so much better if their defense wasn’t so awful. This is true. But the 6 guys Sacco chooses out of a hat to play defense every game aren’t entirely to blame. The Avs are a horrible offensive team. How horrible you ask? Well take a look at this:

In their last 22 games the Avs have managed to score more than 4 goals just once in their 6-2 win over the Blackhawks. They’ve reached the 4 goal mark just three times, scored 3 goals three times, hit 2 goals seven times, 1 goal six times, and they’ve been shutout twice. Here is a less than fancy table for you:

# of goals per game	# of times
0	2
1	6
2	7
3	3
4	3
6	1

In their last 22 games the Avs have won 5 of them. The team has scored 47 goals for a whopping goals per game total of 2.13. The Avs defense could have been solid every night and they probably wouldn’t have won many more games during that stretch.

Sure you can argue the best offense is a good defense, but the numbers don’t lie about how bad the Avs are offensively. Colorado is 29^th in the league in goals for with 96, just one goal up on Columbus of all teams with 95, and the Jackets have a game at hand. The Avs overall GPG league wide is 28^th behind Nashville and Columbus. The Avs are 27^th when it comes to 5 on 5 goals, and 28^th when it comes to powerplay goals.

No, this isn’t because the Avs spend too much time in their own zone, and defense can’t clear pucks. That’s only part of it. For shots per game on the year the Avs rank at an impressive 13^th place, but anyone who has watched a game this year can agree with the fact that the players hardly take quality shots. They float shots in from the point, slap pucks right at the goalies when there is no hope for a goal, and never take time to set up plays. Gain the zone, shoot, whistle. Gain the zone, shoot, whistle. Rinse, wash, repeat. And that isn’t just a matter opinion. When the Avs outshoot their opponents, they have only won 33% of the games. That’s good for 28^th in the league.

The defensemen aren’t entirely off the hook. As of right now, since Stefan Elliott’s shot was tipped by Patrick Bordeleau, the Avs have one defenseman who has scored a goal this year: Tyson Barrie. Ryan O’Byrne (Who's interview with us can be found here) had one but he’s gone. This is what the offensive numbers of the Avs D look like as 12/04/13:

 Bottom line: When it comes to finding the net, this team is pathetically good and not doing so. Sure, the defense sucks and it needs to be shaken up, but don’t let those forward off the hook so fast. Now, correct us if we're wrong, but isn't there a guy that's supposed to sit behind the bench with the players during games that is supposed to help the players improve their game? We seea guy back there, but apart from the occasional scowl and badly placed time out, he doesn't seem to be doing the team any favours. The Avs currently sit in last place in the NHL, and they deserve it.