Scratch and Win?

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So as you may or may not know, Tyson Barrie has been scratched for the last couple of games, and will be scratched for the next few it looks like. We here at Avaholics Unanimous understand that when a team is finally starting to gel and put up some points, you don’t want to fix anything that isn’t broken. That’s fine. But what the Avs management, mostly Joe Sacco, is doing to Barrie is wrong. Sacco said Barrie was going to be scratched before the 2^nd game of the home and home versus Chicago. His reasoning: the last 2 games, Barrie’s level of play had dropped. That’s fair. You want to ice your best players all the time. But it certainly isn’t doing Barrie any favours. Here is our theory:

Tyson Barrie is a young kid playing in the NHL  on a team with 8 defensemen on its active roster. He is  the only one as of right now that is eligible to skip waivers before being sent down to the minors. That makes him expendable and the most likely to see his time in “The Show” this season cut short. That is a lot of pressure to put on a youngster.

Look at it this way; we have all been in the position before where we make a mistake at our jobs, get yelled at, and then go back to work. Only when we go back to work, we are often so afraid to make another mistake that we end up screwing up on a ton of different stuff. We aren’t sport psychologists, but we don’t see how this would be any different on Barrie. His NHL job security is at risk, and any time he makes a few mistakes (which he is going to do for pete’s sake) he gets taken out of the lineup. We can’t help but think that if Sacco gave him more leeway and didn’t punish him for a bad game, Barrie’s overall play would be more relaxed, more confident, and just better. Remember when EJ and Wilson went down, and Barrie was put back into the lineup earlier in the year? He was one of our best defensemen on most nights and he was playing great. You could see he was confident, knew it was okay to slip up a few times, and knew the possibility of him getting scratched was low. Bottom line, he knew he could just go out and play.

So what happens? He has a few “bad games”, guys get healthy, and he sits. Good strategy coach. Because the best way to develop a budding 21 year old defenseman is to have him watch games up in the press box. If and when he returns to the lineup it will be interesting to see if he plays well with the microscope examining his every play. It seems like Sacco isn’t looking for reasons to keep him in the lineup, he is looking for reasons to scratch him.

Oh and a little side note, in his last 3 games against Columbus, Detroit, and Chicago, Barrie averaged just under 21 minutes of ice time, picked up an assist, was +1 with 7 shots, had 4 hits and a couple of blocked shots. That doesn’t seem so bad.

Ryan O’Byrne in his last 3 games you ask? About 20 minutes ice time, -2, a bad penalty, and multiple untimely icings. Hm.

Post Game Avs/Sharks: Dutch the Clutch

Well, after a ghastly performance against the Blue Jackets and a close loss against the Hawks, the Avs seem to be back on track. Well that isn’t entirely accurate because from the start of the season, they weren’t on any kind of track. But the win versus Chicago (Chelsea Dagger anyone?) and the OT win Sunday against the Sharks, the Avs look fast, healthy, and complete. Yes they have a less than optimal defensive corps that makes mistake after mistake after mistake. But EJ is back and playing great, and Wilson had a solid game (hit, blocked shot, 2 SOG, +1) so now it is an option to sit guys like Zanon. Look for the Avs to get rid of a defenseman soon or send Barrie down to the farm. With a solid top 3 lines, and a great 4^th line wrecking crew, the Avs are in a prime position to get some points and move up in the standings. There are no excuses anymore to be successful.

Tonight was a fairly good showing by the Avalanche. But don’t let Duchene’s last second OT goal fool you into the thinking the Avs played pristine. The third period was not great and once again Varlamov stole it for them in the final 25 minutes of play. The bottom 4 defense played a bit of a choppy game with some untimely icings, bad penalties, and poor play down low in their own zone. Oh, did we say the bottom 4? We meant Ryan O’Byrne. He needs to be better.

But there was a ton of optimism to be dragged out of this performance.

Matt Duchene: Wow! His speed is intense and he always seems to have the extra step. He is playing with his heart, with his body, and with his brain. Smart, good hockey and it is a big reason he and his team are starting to put up some points. Last second goals don’t seem to hurt his case either. Clutch

Semyon Varlamov: We have already said it but Varly is playing great. When the Avs D mess up, or when opposing players get open, Varlamov has been there to stop them. His solid, confident play has provided the Avs with some breathing room and assurance.

Jan Hejda: He looked horrible to start the season and was a healthy scratch early in the year. And now, you can hardly notice him on the ice. For a defensive, hard-nosed defenseman in the NHL, that is all you can ask for. People only notice guys like him when they make mistakes and cost their team. But Hejda has played great defensive hockey as of late and we think we speak for every Avs fan out there when we say he should keep it up.

*Reminder: If the Avs tank and are at the bottom of the standings at the end of the year, look for them to move Hejda. He is in the last year of his contract and he would be a key asset to a contending team.

Overall, tonight was a good game. The powerplay was working, the penalty killing did its job, although iffy at times, and all 4 lines contributed in their own way and that led to the Avs victory tonight.

Upcomming: Avs/Oilers on Tuesday night. This is a big one.

3 Stars:

1.  Matt Duchene

2. Semyon Varlamov

3. Erik Johnson

Dishonourable mention:

Ryan O’Byrne

Come At Me Hawks Fans

By:

Chloe (@ChloeColorado)

Go ahead and crucify me, but I have to ask. Are the Blackhawks really that good? Common wisdom says that records don’t lie, and 22 straight games with at least a point—well that’s a pretty great record. I shouldn’t even question the success of a team that has yet to lose in regulation, especially as a fan of an Avs team that just stumbled to the Blue Jackets in a snoozer of an afternoon game. The Blackhawks play smart, quick, entertaining hockey. Of course they are a good team. Finding a way to win in different situations is the definition of an elite team in the NHL. No one is questioning that.

But when any team in sports chases history like the Blackhawks continue to do, perspective is important. The Blackhawks bandwagon is at cruising at top speed, and while it’s doubtful that they will make it all the way through the season without a regulation loss, it’s easy to see how fans and critics alike can get caught up in the romance of it all. I am not trying to take anything away from the best team in the NHL, nor am I trying to find a way to validate the shortcomings of the eight-win Avalanche by tearing down a team that has clearly proven themselves time and time again.

 My problem—and I don’t think I’m alone on this one—is that in the shortened season the eastern and western conference teams will not play each other. As a fan of a team that is still struggling at the bottom of the pile in the west, it is definitely easier to criticize greatness than to admit defeat, but I have to wonder whether the Blackhawks would still be writing their page in the history books if they had to play the elite teams of the east like the Habs or Bruins or Penguins.  It’s an academic question at best, one that no one will know the answer to unless they make it to the Stanley Cup finals.

While breaking down the results from the Blackhawks season so far (because honestly I’m sick of thinking about the O’Reilly saga and wanted to find some other way to waste my time,) something really jumped out at me. Of the 19 wins that the Blackhawks have, seven have been decided in overtime or a shootout. Of the remaining 12 wins, another five have been one point wins—meaning that the Blackhawks have only won seven games by more than one point. What’s more— in 12 of their games they have come back from behind. My initial thought (and those of lots of Blackhawks fans out there I’m sure,) was that it just proves that they know how to grind it out and don’t get discouraged when they fall behind. They can win in different situations which is exactly what you want from your team. Thinking about it more though, I am starting to notice an interesting nuance in the fairytale of the Blackhawks season.  For a team that is touted as being so elite, they somehow can’t manage to carry a lead or put their opponents away early on any consistent basis.

This may be a moot point, after all at the end of the season a win is a win and it doesn’t matter as long as you get those points, right? I just can’t help but wonder if the Blackhawks are really worth their first place spot in the NHL, or if they are just a very good team that has capitalized on the misfortunes of a weaker conference and squeak out wins at the end. The only other western opponent so far with a record even close to the Blackhawks has been Anaheim—who beat Chicago in overtime. What does that say?

The Blackhawks have been lucky so far with players staying healthy—unlike the lowly Blue Jackets—who were without their top defensemen and two centers the last time they met the Hawks. But even with their obvious disadvantages going into that game, they still managed to take the best team in the NHL to overtime before coming up short in the end. It has been said time and time again that in the NHL there are no easy victories, and that the worst team in the league on paper is usually not that far off from being the best. If this holds true, then it’s no surprise that the Jackets gave the Hawks a run for their money. In reality however, it is hard to think that a team with so many injuries that have less than half the points of the Blackhawks could have given them this much trouble.

I can’t say that it doesn’t brighten my mood to think of the way the Jackets played them, knowing that the Avs will meet them twice in the next few games. Could the Avs be the team to end their streak? All I can say is that I can’t wait to watch hockey this week, and will have plenty of popcorn ready.

The real test for the Blackhawks will probably not come until the playoffs, and I hope for the sake of the history books that they really prove to be the best team. I love hockey with all of my heart, and have struggled this season to decide if the lockout will compromise the results of the sport that takes up so much of my time. What I would hate to see is a team that has been touted as the best of the best fall flat in the playoffs when it counts the most. I want to believe that the 48 game compressed schedule will not affect the outcome, and that the streak by the Hawks is just as valid as any other great run in hockey history. At this point I’m just not convinced that the Blackhawks are head and shoulders above the rest of the league as their record suggests—but for the sake of the game—I hope I’m wrong.

Jay Feaster: Gutless

Jay Feaster is probably regarded as one of the least intelligent GM’s in the NHL. He has terrible teams, signs terrible players for terrible deals, and makes terrible trades for terrible returns. And after today, you can add one more terrible thing to his terrible resume. He broke the unwritten GM code today and, as most of you probably know right now, signed RFA Avs forward Ryan O’Reilly to a two year offer sheet with a $5M cap hit. We get why he did this. His team is in desperate need of a young player with a two way talent level like O’Reilly. Heck, any team is. But no GM has yet to be as gutless as to make an offer sheet to O’Reilly. Yes, gutless. GM’s just don’t do this very often in today’s NHL. Or yesterday’s NHL. Yes, the Shea Weber offer sheet was made last season, and that was a cheap shot by Paul Holmgren. Remember the Dustin Penner offer sheet that forever broke the binds between Brian Burke and Kevin Lowe? Teams don’t get that mad at eachother for no reason. It’s a gutless move.

Do you know what this offer sheet says about you and your team Jay Feaster? It says your scouts are so bad, and your skill as an NHL level General Manager is so minute, that you need to poach other team’s scouted and legitimate talent. You hit teams when they are down, and when they are powerless. Where’s your honour?

But I guess we understand. You drafted NHL superstar (please note the sarcasm) Tim Erixon in the 1^st round, traded a different 1^st round pick and two 2^nd round picks, all in 2009, and you have absolutely NOTHING to show for it. Your team is lousy, has been lousy for a long time, and will continue to be lousy because obviously you and your staff aren’t getting any smarter, or better at your jobs. With such draft gems in the last few years as John Negrin, Mitch Wahl, Nick Larson, Greg Nemisz, Ryan Howse, Henrik Bjorklund, Joey Leach, John Ramage, Bill Arnold, Tyler Wotherspoon, and T.J. Brodie, all of which were 4^th rounders or higher (we didn’t have the heart to dice into later rounds) it is totally understandable that your prospect system is a complete joke. Way to be gutless Feaster. You did what 28 other NHL GM’s were too proud to do.

Oh, how’s Matt Stajan working out for you? Not good? Better go sign Olli Jokinen again.

Varlamous! Post game Avs\Sharks

We’ll keep the post-game short tonight and just add a couple of things

 - Varlamov! Wow. How many times is this guy going to bail us out of games? His record doesn’t look good, and his numbers aren’t the best, but he has played phenomenally.

-Shane O’Brien: Great game back with the Avs. Made some huge plays on the PK, and was even in on some of the offensive chances. Keep him in Sacco.

 -Gabe Landeskog: Doesn’t look like hes back in game mode yet. He hasn’t been the difference maker that people have expected. But don’t fret Avs fans, give him a few more games and he will be back to normal.

 -Paul Stastny: The 6.6 million dollar man. Start playing like it. Jeez.

 -Matt Duchene: Man, he was INVISIBLE tonight! Just kidding. But he’s only day to day so expect him back soon.

 -David Jones: This guy just isn’t playing well. Maybe a few games in the press box will teach him a lesson.

 -Greg Zanon: This guy needs to sit too. He made one really good defensive play on an Avs PK but overall he was horrible again.

 -PA Parenteau: Great game but he needs to stay out of the box. He doesn’t do the team any good in there. A few bad penalties tonight.

The bottom line of this game is this: The Avs had no business going into overtime. They should have lost that game not only in regulation, but they should have lost it big. Varlamov is eventually going to tire out down the stretch, and if he isn’t on his absolute BEST, the Avs aren’t going to win. Look at the game versus the Oilers. Varlamov was off in the latter half, and with NO help from his team, the Oilers scored 5 unanswered goals. If he keeps getting peppered by this many shots, expect many more high scoring games with Colorado on the wrong end of the score sheet.

But it is what it is, isn’t it? We get a point. But as we stand right now, they are in sole possession of 14^th in the West. The Avs are going to need to win a ton more games in regulation if they want to have even the slimmest glimpse of hope to make the playoffs. That’s all for tonight folks, thanks for reading.

3 Stars: Varlamov, Olver, O'Brien

Dishonourable Mention: Zanon, Stastny, O'Byrne, Jones

The 2013 Colorado Avalanche Academy Awards

Yes we know Altitude had this feature running throughout the Avs/Ducks game. But we here at Avaholics Unanimous had this idea in mind much before everyone saw it on TV. So to heck with it, here are our 2013 Oscar awards for the Colorado Avalanche:

Best Picture: Nominees; Gabe Landeskog, David Jones, Aaron Palushaj.

WINNER: Gabe Landeskog! With his dashingly good Swedish looks (Must be the meatballs; see Lundqvist, Henrik) Landy is a no brainer to win the best picture award.

Beautiful.

Best Production: Nominees; The Avs Defense, The Duchene Line, David Jones

WINNER: The Duchene Line. Why? Because the other 2 nominees don’t produce at all.

Best Visual Effects: Nominees; Joe Sacco, Cody Mcleod, Chuck Kobasew.

WINNER: Chuck Kobasew. While Joe Sacco uses visual effects to make him look like a real coach, and Mcleod uses effects to make it look like he has no teeth, Chuck Kobasew takes home this honour. Why? Because using some sort of advanced technology, he is able to insert his name into every gamesheet when, as I’m sure most people can argue, no one even notices him on the ice.

*Side note: we were going to use Matt Duchene’s offside goal, but Altitude already did. Early bird and all..

Best Original Score: Nominees; Matt Duchene, Aaron Palushaj, Milan Hejduk

WINNER: M-m-m-m-Matt Duchene! While Hejduk’s snipe, and Palushaj’s first of the year are nice goals, nothing can compare to Matt Duchene’s game tying goal against the Wild on Valentine’s Day: (Jump to 2:00)

Best Director: Nominees; Joe Sacco, David Quinn, Tim Army (The latter two are assistant coaches)

WINNER: Noone! Why? Because from what we’ve seen, they can’t direct this team worth a damn.

Best Player: Nominees; Gabe Landeskog, Jamie McGinn, Matt Duchene

WINNER: Matt Duchene. Landy’s injury forced him out of contention for this, and while good, McGinn can’t match the skill speed, and leadership of Matt Duchene.

Best Player in a Supporting Role: Nominees; PA Parenteau, Jamie McGinn, John Mitchell

WINNER: McGinn. We can give this one to McGinn. He has been a great second punch to the Duchene line, and is a big reason this line has been able to put up so many points.

Best Makeup and/or Hairstyling: Nominees; Gabe Landeskog, John Mitchell, Greg Zanoon.

WINNER: John Mitchell. Mitchell won’t be denied this Oscar. While Landeskog’s hair is beautifully manscaped, and Zanon’s beard is just legendary, Mitchell wins with the makeup job he showed off after the first few games of a season:

I mean, someone couldn’t be able to go through all that pain and still be able to play every game right?....right?

Best Actor: Nominees; John Mitchell, Greg Zanon, Joe Sacco

WINNER: Greg Zanon. While John Mitchell pretends to be invincible, and Joe Sacco pretends to know what he is doing behind the bench, nothing tops the prime time acting job Greg Zanon shows the fans game in and game out. You almost had us there Zanon, but we all know you’re not actually an NHL caliber defenseman.

Best Costume Design: Nominees; The White Away Jerseys, The Dark Home Jersey, The Blue Alternate Jerseys

WINNER: The Dark Home Jerseys. Why? Because the Blueberry jerseys aren’t Burgundy, and because the white jersey, while nice on the eyes, don’t have that Avs feel to them like the Home ones do. 

Best Foreign Language Film: Nominees; The Powerplay (Because the Avs obviously don’t understand game video), The Penalty Kill (See above reason), Any interview with Semyon Varlamov

WINNER: Any interview with Semyon Varlamov. This guy is from Russia. And we can tell.

Noone To Blame But Themselves. Not Even Hunwick...OK maybe Hunwick. Post Game Avs/Ducks

So as you may or may not know, the Avalanche lost today. And, as you may or may not know, we lost another 3^rd period lead. Another inexcusable effort from a team that just seems unable to get the job done. If you watched the game, then we don’t need to tell you what happened. If you didn’t watch the game, just know this: The PK was bad (Anaheim was 3 for 5 on the PP) our D, most notably Zanon, O’Byrne, Hunwick…oh hell, all of them…were too easy to play against and were often found out of position. We could rip the Avs again like we’ve done a few times this year, but that is tired. We write to you tonight to preach our opinions (we can do that because it’s a blog) on a few aspects of this team. So without further Ado, here we go…

Problem #1: Awww man, the refs screwed us over! If the refs weren’t so hard on the Avs, we would have won this game and other games!

NO! Bad dog! Sure, the refs in the Avs/Ducks game dropped a few bombs. McLeod interference, the stick slash, weak call in overtime. We here at Avaholics Unanimous recognize that the game was poorly called, and yes, we wish it could have been different. We don’t disagree that the Avalanche got jobbed.

But, if you blow a 2-0 lead, a third period lead, take a weak penalty in overtime, and perform horrendously on the penalty kill, then we’re sorry Colorado Avalanche organization, perhaps the refs aren’t your biggest problem. If this team were say…more skilled, then they would be able to shrug off the missed and weak calls. Bottom line: if your team is incapable of winning the game because they don’t get a few extra powerplays, then you have problems that go way beyond the men who wear the zebra shirts. So to all of you who think the Avs lost the game because of the refs, then you failed to notice the lazy backchecking, horrible defensive positioning, the bad penalty killing, and the fact that the Avalanche had ONE shot in the third, 18 seconds in. But yes, if 2 or 3 more penalties would have been called, we’re sure all of that would have changed. The team would have done a complete 360.

Problem #2: Joe Sacco.

We don’t usually participate in the whole #FireSacco thing. Although it may have crossed our minds a few times, it has never been something we’ve been very vocal about. But it’s time for Sacco to pursue greener grasses. Maybe an assistant coaching job somewhere to actually learn how to do your job behind the bench. Our problem with Sacco is this: he currently coaches a team that has the 5^th worst PK, 6^th worst PP, 11^th worst 5 on 5 play, and overall, 26^th in the league. His team is 22^nd in goals per game, 21^st in goals against, and 28^th in shots against. Want more stats? The Avs are ranked 24^th in winning percentage when scoring 1^st, 28^th when leading after 1 period, and 29^th when leading after 2 periods. When the Avs outshoot their opponents, they are ranked 25^th in winning percentage. We’ll stop here. Some may argue that the Avs don’t have a good team, and injuries are hurting us. But look at the Avs on paper. Even with injuries they are a club full of offensive talent. But these stats, after looking back in Sacco’s time with the Avs, look shockingly similar year after year.

“Well, the Avs management team sucks. They don’t give Sacco the right players, and don’t give him a reliable defense.” True. That is a problem. But as a coach, Sacco should be able to work with what he has. Don’t scratch Aaron Palushaj and keep guys like Chuck Kobasew and Bordy in the lineup. When a guy like Palushaj comes in and produces, don’t sit him. Don’t squeeze the sparky Mark Olver between Bordy and McLeod. Olver can put up the points. He has shown that last year. But how do expect an offensive type player to help your team at all when he’s playing with two bruisers? Oh, and how was Ryan O’Byrne not sat yet? He has played bad game after bad game after bad game. Greg Zanon? He is just playing horribly. The worst guy on the ice most night. But Shane O’Brien is still sitting up in the press box waiting to get another game in. Ridiculous. This has been said time and time again, but wouldn’t it be nice to have Lindy Ruff? His attitude and work ethic would really whip our guys into shape. No more lazy plays, horrible positioning, and hopefully no more drop passes on the powerplay. YOU ARENT FOOLING ANYONE WHEN YOU DO THAT GUYS! Sacco does not motivate his players when they are down. After a bad game, he does nothing but cling to the “Big plays” his team has made, even if there was only one or two. Even tonight he had a few comments about the refs post game. As a coach you cannot use that as an excuse. You should look at what your players did to lose the game and work on fixing the flaws. Some players also had comments about the officiating. Turn to Adrian Dater’s twitter page for that though; we don’t want to take credit.

The Avs three stars of the night: 1. Giguere, 2. Mitchell, 3. Palushaj.

Dishonourable mentions: Zanon, Landeskog, Duchene, Hunwick

Anyways, that’s it for us tonight. Morale of the story: Avs lost the game, not the refs; Sacco needs to find a way to fix this team or he needs to be replaced. Thanks for reading Avs fans.