Avs-Sabres Game 8 Studs & Duds

Studs

Bowen Byram

For the second straight game, I thought Byram’s game took some steps forward, especially defensively. To be honest, I actually really liked the pairing with Byram and Girard but Byram had a much tougher start to his season than Girard so I’m focusing on the youngster here.

The common denominator for me in Byram’s game taking a leap the last couple of games has been moving his feet better and reintroducing that dynamic element to his game. He’s not defaulting to the simple play with the puck and has had some of the best scoring chances the Avs have had in these back-to-back shutouts.

On one hand, that’s good because he’s activating. On the other hand, it’s not as good because he’s not finishing and he’s talented enough to do that consistently.

All of that is great but the bow (haha) on his play has been his defensive work. His stick has been disruptive and we’ve seen him picking up some of the slack in that end when the forwards on the ice drop the ball.

I really like how his game is rounding into form and the pairing alongside Girard has quietly hummed along at a high level to start this season.

The fourth line

When looking at the success Vegas has had over the years, one of their common threads has been a disruptive fourth line that can be trusted against all opposing lines and is a trio that gets to their identity and helps provide a spark when the rest of the team is lacking.

Colorado might have found their own answer in Cogliano-Olofsson-O’Connor because this trio has been fantastic since the second game of the season (Cogliano missed Game 1 due to injury).

Today, this was the only line the Avalanche had that had their legs and any semblance of consistency. They spent nearly the entire game in the Buffalo zone cycling the puck and grinding the Sabres into dust. It was extremely effective as the three of them played exactly seven minutes at 5v5 together and had a 12-2 shot attempt advantage. Actual shots on goal was a much more muted 3-2 but they were successful in playing keep away against all four Sabres lines.

The scoring wasn’t there but most nights it isn’t going to be. That isn’t why that line is being paid. They are there to put in the work, kill penalties, bring a physical presence, and in a game like today’s provide an emotional boost to a group that was sleepwalking through the game. They certainly did their part despite their teammates not holding up their end of things.

Duds

Uhhhh…everyone else

Same as the game in Pittsburgh, this was a team that cheated the game hard today. They collectively didn’t put in the work and it showed. The Avs have an unbelievable collection of talent at the top of their lineup and what makes them so special is the two-way work they are capable of doing.

Today, you saw a ton of standing around, lazy puck decisions and awful execution when they actually did try some things. Were it not for a fun opening five or so minutes in the first period, I would say this game was just as bad as the loss in Pittsburgh. As it is, this one gets the smallest tick ahead but neither was close to acceptable from a team with this much talent.

I don’t know what the deal was with the Makar/Rantanen/MacKinnon trio in handling the puck but they were all so sloppy, so disinterested. It was awful to watch. I don’t even have a deep insight here other than to say that it was bad hockey. They were bad with and without the puck.

I will add that when Makar briefly left due to injury and MacKinnon was given the gate for a misconduct penalty, Rantanen went out there for a power play without his running mates and instead of taking control, shrank from the moment entirely by standing down below the goal line.

Doing that when those guys aren’t there and you’re the focal point of the Buffalo PK is doing them a massive favor. They would sign up for that 10 times out of 10. It’s essentially Rantanen defending himself by removing the threat of him shooting from the equation. That’s a guy who scored 55 goals last year not even being an option to shoot? If that’s coaching, it’s a terrible decision. If it was Rantanen doing it on his own, it’s still a terrible decision! To quote Patrick Roy, “What is that?”

It wasn’t just the top guys, however, as the third pairing of Josh Manson and Jack Johnson once again was far too adventurous in the bad ways. Manson’s lazy turnover and effort getting back helped create the first goal, which Johnson defended well enough until he had to move his feet. That pairing has a ceiling of “fine” and a floor of “unplayable” and we were closer to the latter today.

Unsung Hero

Sam Girard

I guess I’m going with Girard here. He has been almost totally drama-free since this season started. His offense has been slow to come but his defense has been steady and reliable. He’s become one of the mainstays on the penalty kill as he’s averaging 2:52 of SHTOI per game, good for fourth on the Avs just and just behind Josh Manson’s 3:11.

Today was a good example of how I have felt about Girard in almost all of the games this season as he played a reliable, repeatable game. He is moving his legs well, avoiding the big mistakes that occasionally plagued him last season, and aggressively getting pucks out of his own zone. He’s been really solid.